The Ebony Files
by zakarin9
Summary: MWPP. 'Contrary to popular belief, we, the Marauders, are not perfect. The proof is within these pages of the Ebony Files. But nobody needs to know, we rather like to upkeep that illusion,' was the first entry. 'There is a traitor among us,' was the last.
1. Lily's Note

**Author's Notes:** The plot and back stories are mine. All else belongs to a woman by the name of JK Rowling. You might've have heard of her.

**The Ebony Files**

**Chapter One: Lily's Note**

September 1st, 1977

Platform 9 and 3/4, King's Cross Station, London

I glanced down at my watch. Eight minutes until the Hogwarts Express was due to depart from Platform 9 and 3/4, and still no sign of James Potter or Sirius Black.

Sighing, I scanned the bustling crowd around me one last time before deciding to give up my fruitless search. _At least now you can go ahead and stake out a compartment that's not too close to the toilets, _I tried to reason with my disappointment.

I bent down to grab the handles of my luggage, which consisted of two large, rather battered suitcases. One was filled with clothes and toiletries. The other, books.

As I straightened myself up, a familiar voice reached my ears.

"Oy, over there, it's him! James, you stupid cow, I _told _you he would be here -"

I turned around to see two tall figures running toward me at full speed, getting closer by the second - _too_ close - oh no, this really wasn't the time -

And before I knew it, they were upon me, knocking the wind out of my breath (as well as the luggage from my hands). I was instantly pulled into a sort of backbreaking embrace, but I felt more like a human toothpaste tube whose contents were slowly being forced out. I cringed as nearby heads turned our way -

"Remus, mate!" came the joyous voice of Sirius Black, though I was too preoccupied with trying to breathe than to reply.

"How've you been, Moony?" asked James, unaware that his arm was cutting off the circulation in my chest -

"Being - strangled - alive - by - two - great - idiots -" I managed to choke out.

"Oh. Right." Sirius grinned as he and James released me. I shot them very dirty looks while taking a moment to recollect my breath.

"We're sorry," James said seriously as he picked up my suitcases and shoved one to Sirius (I suspected it was the one filled with books, as Sirius grunted upon receiving it). "We don't want you to die. Really. I mean, without you, Moony, who then would give us excruciatingly long and painful lectures about the dangers of setting Snape's robes on fire? Why, gee whiz, we'd just _never_ manage without you!"

"Ha ha," I rolled my eyes irritably. "You're hilarious."

"But _really _now, be reasonable. You can't blame us for our affection." Sirius grinned, swinging one long arm around my shoulder. "James here and I can't resist you. In fact, we almost went mad from not seeing our favorite werewo-"

"Sirius!" James interjected in a stern voice, motioning at all the people who were staring at our little trio.

"Er - our favorite - er - person who grew his hair out over the summer!" Sirius ended his speech rather lamely. James sniggered.

My hand unconsciously reached up to touch my hair, which I had indeed left to occupy the majority of my head for the past two months. Before the summer, I'd always been clean-cut, good-boy Remus. But while on vacation, I had let it grow a bit and discovered that I liked the feel of bangs in my eyes and the brush of feather-light strands on my neck. It made me feel a little more secretive.

"Come on, Moony," Sirius' voice snapped me back to attention. "The Express is gonna leave any second now. We've got a compartment already, those dumb First Years practically set a record running out before James even got to threaten them with the Bat Bogey Hex."

I laughed aloud, the familiar warmth of being with my best friends filling my chest as the three of us boarded the scarlet train.

* * *

Having secured a compartment all to ourselves, we settled in quickly. James and I sat facing Sirius, who was sprawled out in his usual manner, lounging on the seat as if he owned it. The table between us was heaped with all sorts of replenishment from the lady with the food cart - Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, pumpkin pasties, a few puddings, flasks of pumpkin juice, cauldron cakes, and all other things sweet and fattening and not recommended to consume in large quantities by dentists. This was, of course, all courtesy of Sirius' generous wealth, one of the many characteristics the Black lineage was famous for.

Sirius made use of his limitless money in many ways, from buying his friends extravagant Christmas presents to adorning himself in only the finest cloaks to just outright spending it on things he really did not have need for. It wasn't that he was particularly concerned with beautiful things - at least, not more concerned than most other teenagers...

The truth was, Sirius's overspending was an act of defiance to his family. It was a well-known fact that he despised his Black bloodline, which was infamous for its purity, its hereditary beauty and of course, its reputation for producing some of the most powerful witches and wizards ever to join the ranks of the Dark Lord. Sirius Black, however, was an anomaly in this. He loathed his parents from the moment he was born, and he didn't bother to conceal his resentful feelings, either. Sirius' most rebellious act took place over the past summer when he had outright refused to return home for the holidays. His furious, humiliated parents threatened to disown him, but luckily James' mum and dad, who'd always treated Sirius like a second son, took him in before anything disastrous could happen. They'd invited me too, and although it was a tempting offer to spend what would've been, without a doubt, an unforgettablesummer with James and Sirius, I'd opted to travel to France with my parents instead.

As if he'd read my mind, Sirius looked over and asked, "So Moony, _comment était la France?_ _La nourriture est incroyable, n'est pas?_" (1)

"_Ouais," _I grinned. "_Et beaucoup de jolies filles, aussi. Bon pour mes yeux._" (2)

Sirius laughed. "Oui, elles sont-"

"Shut it, will you two?" James interrupted, annoyed. He didn't speak a word of French and therefore was always put into a bad mood whenever Sirius and I decided to converse _en français_.

It seemed to me, however, that speaking French was one of the few things James Potter _couldn't_ do. He was good at pretty much everything else - he was smart, he was outgoing, he was popular, and he was one hell of a Quidditch player. For the sixth year in a row, James Potter's superb flying had secured Gryffindor the envied Quidditch Cup. Consequently, he had the admiration and respect of pretty much every single student in the school. He was also very well-known for the enmity that existed between him and Severus Snape, a Slytherin, and it wasn't exactly uncommon to see Severus and James hexing each other in the hallways while onlookers cheered the latter on.

James' popularity was only matched by that of his right hand man. Sirius Black was hot-tempered, rebellious and intelligent beyond belief. Those who knew him personally liked him for his sense of humor and boyish charm, and those who didn't know him admired him for his stunning looks - Sirius' sleek black hair, piercing blue eyes and lean, wiry build usually clad in black leather have actually caused girls to pass out when he walked down the hall - arrogant, admired and on top of his world.

Yet for all his charm and beauty, Sirius Black didn't take girls...well, seriously. Sure, he _liked_ them - he flirted outrageously with pretty females at any given chance, enchanting them with his dazzling smile and casually touching their fingers or waists, but he never asked one out, nor did he accept any of the alarmingly large number of date invitations from those hopelessly smitten with him. Just last year, a rumor spread like wildfire throughout the school, and whispers that Sirius Black preferred _boys_ surfaced. Many girls had actually cried at this - and the majority of the male students were greatly alarmed. James, Peter and I had expected Sirius to go into a rage when the rumor reached his ears, but to our great surprise, he laughed it off and after rejecting all eighteen boys who'd asked him out in the following month, the rumor faded...

Nobody was surprised when James Potter and Sirius Black became best friends a few months into the school year, bonding over their wicked senses of humor, shared love for troublemaking and their already-culminating groups of admirers. Between Sirius' good looks and James' extraordinary talent on the Quidditch field, the two friends quickly became the elite - princes of Hogwarts, if you will - with admirers and friends always close by. Peter Pettigrew and I, with our withdrawn personalities, were initially unnerved by James and Sirius, but eventually a steady friendship formed between us as we shared classes, meals and a dormitory.

Over the years, the four of us had become pretty well-known throughout the school, mostly due to James and Sirius' popularity. I was the introverted, brainy and often overlooked Marauder, but nevertheless I was very grateful for their friendships, which were sealed only two years ago when all three of my companions had mastered becoming Animagi. At will, James "Prongs" Potter could turn into a powerful stag, Sirius "Padfoot" Black into an enormous dog, and Peter, or "Wormtail", into a scrawny rat. In their animal forms, my friends could accompany me when I made my transformation into a dangerous werewolf at full moon each month - hence my nickname, "Moony".

"...yeah, I didn't see Pettigrew either." Sirius was saying as he thoughtfully bit the head off of a chocolate frog. "He probably forgot that school started today or something, the miserable bloke...Remus, honestly, I don't know how you put up with him."

"There's nothing wrong with Peter," I said indignantly.

"Well, sure, there's nothing _wrong_ with him," James smirked arrogantly. "But with him asking you for homework help every waking moment... one of these days, I'm going to lose it and hex him into silence."

I was about to voice a protest to this sadistic idea when a glint of metal suddenly caught my eye. A glint that looked very familiar -

"James, what's that in your hand?" I asked. Sirius gave a little smirk as we both turned around.

"What? Oh, this. It's my Head Boy badge." James said these words casually, but there was a definite trace of pride in his tone - and a rare pink flush to his cheeks.

But Sirius' jeering smile was now replaced by a frown. "Say, Remus, weren't _you_ going to be Head Boy? I mean, you were made prefect, and you're easily the smartest in our year-"

I suddenly felt very uncomfortable, but Sirius and James were now both looking curiously at me. I swallowed.

"Well, yeah, Dumbledore offered it to me a while ago, but I didn't really want to do, you know, keep having to tell you guys to stop breaking the rules and stuff..." I trailed off.

In actuality, the decision had been tough - serving as Head Boy was a privilege that many people could only dream of, and Albus Dumbledore had not hid his disappointment when I'd declined the offer. But I knew that I couldn't continue to fight the battle between my conscience and my friends anymore, not after all the times James and Sirius exchanged impatient glances when I'd spoke out to stop them from doing something stupid. Or when they'd just gotten fed up and ignored my protests altogether.

James and Sirius didn't seem to notice my uneasiness and had resumed talking. Even though I knew I'd made the right choice, I couldn't quell the small waves of jealousy that coursed through me whenever I glanced at James' badge again.

A sound brought me out of my thoughts. The door to our compartment had slid open, and at the entrance stood a very pretty girl with long red hair and large green eyes. James sat up immediately, and in the process, knocked over a chocolate pudding, which landed on the floor with a loud _splat_. Lily Evans gave him a brief look of exasperation before pulling out her wand to clean it up.

"Have any of you guys got a copy of _Hogwarts, A History_ that I could borrow?" she asked once she was done, tucking her wand back into her robes, where a silver badge identical to James' gleamed. "I just have to check up on something, I can return it to you at dinnertime," she added.

"I've got one," James said quickly, eager to redeem himself in the eyes of the girl he'd admired for four years now. Lily looked skeptical as he plunged into his bag and searched through his books. "What subject is this for again?" James asked after a few seconds, sounding a little disgruntled.

"It's not a required textbook for any subject," Lily said rather pointedly, her arms crossed.

"Then why the heck would you want it?" James frowned.

"Because," Lily said, "Some people actually _enjoy_ reading." She turned towards me, her expression softer. "Hello, Remus. James is obviously clueless here and I don't even think Sirius can read," ("Hey!" Sirius objected) she said with a smile. "Would you happen to have a copy with you?"

"Yeah, sure," I said. I pulled out the old, tattered book from my suitcase and handed it to her. "Take your time."

"Thanks. I'll see you all later."

"Bye, Evans," James called hopefully.

The moment she stepped out, Sirius let out a low whistle. "Nice going, James. I reckon Lily was impressed beyond belief by your extraordinary ability to magically connect puddings with the ground."

James' face flushed scarlet.

"I'm not kidding, mate," Sirius continued in his casual manner. "You need to be a little more smooth than that."

"Look who's talking, Mr. I've-Turned-Down-Every-Wedding-Proposal-Made-By-Two-Thirds-Of-The-Entire-Female-Population," James retorted. "What do _you_ know about girls?"

"That they're too complex and mentally unstable for me to deal with," Sirius replied coolly. "But it doesn't take a genius to figure that Lily isn't quite loving you." He fixed me with a sly look. "Now as for Remus here..."

James suddenly looked very alarmed at this thought. "Remus, you're not-"

"No." I said firmly.

"You've never-"

"Nope."

"She hasn't-"

"Uh-uh."

"You're sure you don't-"

"No! James, for the love of - we are _not_ having this conversation," I said between clenched teeth.

Sirius was laughing, throwing his head back. I shot him a very ugly look, for it was he who'd brought the subject up in the first place. James still looked a little doubtful, but he decided not to pursue it anymore.

The truth was - I didn't really know how I felt about Lily Evans. We weren't exactly friends, but we were definitely more than just acquaintances. I admired her for her strong sense of ethics and morality. When other girls left their shirts buttoned low and pulled up their pleated skirts, Lily remained chaste and decent in her attire. When somebody was struggling in class, Lily made no hesitation to offer help. When somebody did her an injustice, like the time Severus called her a Mudblood because she was born to Muggle parents, Lily Evans remained levelheaded and dignified.

On the rare occasion, I found myself wondering Lily's soft hair would feel at my fingertips, how her hand would feel on mine. Of course, it was all stupid - I _didn't_ like her in that way - and even if I did, I would never betray James in such a manner. But at the same time, her grace and beauty were so extraordinary, so unique, that sometimes I couldn't help but allow myself to dream...

Outside, it began to drizzle, then rain, then pour. The countryside scenery was no longer visible through the grey sheets of rain that lashed against the windows of our compartment. James and Sirius passed the remaining time through games of wizard chess, while I contented myself with a book (occasionally glancing up to help Sirius out of a check). A few minutes before the train stopped, we changed out of our Muggle clothing and into the traditional school uniform - button-down shirt, vest, tie, long pants, dress shoes, and of course, black robe.

We filed off the Hogwarts Express (I didn't want to think about the next time I'd be leaving the scarlet train) and made a mad dash for one of the large, horseless carriages waiting at Hogsmeade Station, the rain pounding down hard on us. Once we were all inside, the carriage began to move in line up a long, muddy pathway. Even though I'd been through this routine half a dozen themes before, I still felt strange as a passenger on a vehicle that had no visible source of fuel.

Sirius seemed to agree. "Weird, isn't it?" he muttered as we moved along. I nodded, staring out into the rain.

We arrived at the castle in no time, and before I knew it, I was making the familiar journey down the Great Hall to the Gryffindor table alongside my old classmates. Even the earsplitting cracks of lightning and booming thunder overhead could not drown out the animated chatter of a thousand students who had not seen each other over summer vacation. I exchanged greetings with a few friends and acquaintances before the hall fell silent, meaning the Sorting was about to begin. I watched the process intently, amused at the terrified expressions on the first years' faces. When at last, "Zinkley, Heather" had been declared as a Hufflepuff, the Headmaster stood up to deliver his welcoming speech.

Albus Dumbledore was an old wizard with an impressive beard and a long mane of grey hair, but his youthfulness and wry sense of humor were betrayed in those twinkling blue eyes. Many considered him to be the most powerful wizard in recent years - even more so than Voldemort. Dressed to the occasion in impressive purple robes covered in glimmering stars and standing erect at his full height, Albus Dumbledore instantly commanded the attention and respect of every single person in the hall.

"Welcome, first years, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he said, smiling broadly. "And for the rest of you, welcome back. I do hope each of you had a marvelous vacation, and I daresay you are all looking forward to homework and studying and all those stressful nights of no sleep," he said merrily, beard twitching. A few people laughed appreciatively. The fifth and seventh years, however, exchanged worried glances. Everybody had heard rumors of how tough O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s were...

"A few items of discussion, before our lovely feast is presented," Dumbledore continued. "As everybody should know by now, students are not to venture into the Forbidden Forest unless accompanied by an adult. Also, you may be surprised to hear that Madam Tinket has announced her retirement to spend the rest of her days with her great-grandchildren, so we have a new librarian. I am pleased to introduce Madam Pince, everybody!"

A middle-aged, severe-looking witch stood up and bowed as the hall filled with applause.

"Great, this means I can go back again!" Sirius whispered excitedly. The previous year, Sirius had been banned from the library for hexing Severus Snape in there.

"And now," Dumbledore smiled, eyes glittering, "You may eat."

The tables groaned (literally) as dozens of delicious-looking platters appeared from thin air. Chatter and laughter burst out again among the students as everybody piled food onto their plates. Helping myself to some lamb chops, I glanced towards the Slytherin table.

There was Narcissa Black at the center of the table, sitting among a bevy of girls, all of whom had blonde hair, heavy makeup, and an air of indefinite stupidity. Narcissa, with her modelesque figure, expensive clothes and platinum hair, stood out like a queen. She was easily the most glamorous and sought-after girl in the school, almost like the female version of Sirius, but her off-and-on relationship with Lucius Malfoy, who'd graduated a few years ago, made her a frequent gossip victim. It didn't seem like her love life was very rocky at the moment, though - an enormous diamond perched on her right ring finger flashed across the hall whenever one of its facets caught the light.

Further down the Slytherin table sat the darker group of students. Prominent among them was Severus Snape. He was glaring out from behind his dark, greasy hair, not touching his plate. It was rumored that Severus knew even more about the Dark Arts (a subject that James greatly despised) than even Dumbledore. Across from him sat Narcissa's younger sister, Bellatrix Black. She, like Sirius, retained quite a bit of good looks from her family line, but her beauty was matched only by her wickedness. She had been nearly expelled the previous year for using the Crutacius Curse on the caretaker, Ogg, after he'd yelled at her for leaving muddy tracks in the hallway. Bellatrix's parents had paid the Ministry of Magic a few thousand galleons to keep the matter quiet, but of course the story leaked out anyway, and after that Bellatrix Black became greatly feared throughout the school. Indeed, I noticed a few first years daring terrified glances at her.

"James! Remus! Sirius!" somebody huffed. I pried my eyes away from Bellatrix to see Peter running towards us, his chubby face shining with sweat and his breathing labored. A few people from other tables stared.

Peter Pettigrew was the rather unimpressive, dull-looking fourth Marauder. He wasn't particularly bright, nor was he very courageous, and sometimes I had the suspicious feeling that the only reason James put up with Peter was because next to Peter's slow-wittedness and average looks, James appeared all the more brilliant and impressive. Unfortunately, Sirius' tolerance for Peter was significantly lower - he became irked whenever it took Peter more than 30 seconds to understand a joke of his - so among the four of us, Sirius and Peter were probably the most distant.

"How've you guys been?" Peter asked eagerly once he'd sat down, knocking over his goblet of pumpkin juice in the process. "Me, I've been practicing Quidditch all summer, and I reckon I might try out for Chaser now!" he exclaimed excitedly, eyes shining. James snorted into his mashed potatoes, while Sirius hastened to turn his laughter into a convincing sneeze.

"That's great, Pete!" I said brightly, though I knew Peter's chances of making Chaser were less than those of James proposing marriage to Severus.

"Do you think I'll get in?" Peter turned to me, clearly eager to discuss this further. "I'm not that good, not anywhere near James or anything, but I think I still have a pretty decent chance!"

"Er -" I began, but cut myself off when I felt somebody tap my shoulder. Glad for a distraction from Peter, I turned around quickly. Lily Evans stood there, holding my book.

"Wey, Effans!" James started, his mouth bulging with potatoes. Consequently, he sprayed chunks of it all over Sirius' face, who swore so loudly that at least a dozen heads turned this time. A few girls giggled, but stopped immediately upon seeing the livid expression on Sirius' face.

Lily had turned very pink by now. She handed me my book with a quick "Thanks" and hurried away in a blur of red hair and black robes. Sirius took out his wand and began to clean himself, still muttering under his breath, while James had buried his head in his hands and was now tugging at fistfuls of his hair, making it stick out at odd angles.

I couldn't help rolling my eyes. Obviously, nobody had changed much over the summer.

After all the plates had magically vanished, signaling the end of the feast, Dumbledore gave a quick closing speech and dismissed us to bed. I trudged sleepily along with Sirius, James, and Peter up to Gryffindor tower, where James, being Head Boy, was granted the password ("Porcupine pus!"). We stumbled through the portrait hole and climbed the stairs up to our dormitories, where our suitcases were waiting for us.

"Where's Frank?" Sirius wondered aloud as he rummaged around in his bags for his nightclothes.

"Dunno, haven't seen him all day," James said, stifling a yawn. "Probably with Alice," he added on an afterthought, grinning slyly.

Frank Longbottom was our fifth roommate. He was the kind of person who was friendly with everybody because of his easygoing nature. He had been going out with his girlfriend Alice for well over two years now. It wouldn't have surprised me to know he was walking her up to her Hufflepuff common at the moment.

Just before I collapsed onto my feather bed, I reached into my bag, took out my battered copy of _Hogwarts, A History_ and placed it on my night stand - but to my surprise, a folded paper fell from its pages.

Suddenly wide awake, I glanced up to make sure none of the others were looking. They were all busy unpacking and talking amongst themselves. Nonetheless, I turned my back to them and in the swiftest of motions, unfolded the note, recognizing Lily's neat print at once.

_Meet me in the library tomorrow after dinner. L._

I re-read the words before crumpling the note and tossing it into a wastebasket. Silently, I climbed into bed, drew the velvet coverings around my bed, and pulled the blanket to my neck, staring pensively up at the dark red canopy above.

_What could Lily possibly want to meet _me_ for? _I asked myself over and over, listening to Peter's snores, until I too fell sound asleep.

* * *

(1) - "So Moony, how was France? The food's incredible, isn't it?"

(2) - "Yeah. And lots of pretty girls, too. Good on my eyes."

**A/N: **Yeah, I know, this probably wasn't the most exciting, fast-paced opening chapter, but it was important to fill in the background information on several characters. But now that you've been introduced to most everybody and even have a bit of a cliffhanger to wonder about, the coming chapters will definitely be more eventful. Feedback, both positive and negative, is welcome. I'd really like to hear what you thought of this opening chapter, as well as any suggestions or criticisms you might have. Thanks, as always, for reading.


	2. Part One: The Perplexing

**Author's Notes:** _Merci beaucoup_ to Lady Foeseeker, my one and only reviewer. I was initially disappointed by the absolute lack of reviews for Chapter One, but lo! You came along and made my day a tenfold brighter. Your message was extremely encouraging, and thanks for pointing out that blip! This chapter is dedicated to you, and it's one of my personal favorites!

**The Ebony Files**

**Chapter Two: The Perplexing and the Unexpected**

**Part One: The Perplexing**

September 2nd, 1977

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

I awoke the following morning feeling jittery despite the warm sunshine leaking through a window onto my comforter. Rubbing my eyes, I looked about sleepily and saw that nobody else had awoken yet. I grinned upon noting Frank, who was still slumbering in his daytime clothes. He had a smudge of red lipstick on his cheek, undoubtedly left there by Alice.

I yawned widely and glanced at the digital clock on my nightstand. 8:02 flashed back at me - breakfast would start in about thirty minutes -

My eyes rested on _Hogwarts, A History_, and I immediately realised why I'd been feeling apprehensive.

"Stop being stupid," I said out loud. "She probably just..." But no words came to me and I trailed off uncertainly. Even after an entire night of pondering, I still couldn't come up with a single reason as to why Lily Evans wanted to meet me in private...

Not wanting to feel thoroughly confused again, I decided to try to focus on things that needed to be taken care of at the moment. Rubbing my eyes again, I crossed the room, careful not to trip over Sirius' hastily thrown aside robes, entered the bathroom and took a brief shower. Stepping out of the cubicle with a fluffy towel around my waist, I caught my reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror. With my thin frame and slight 5 foot 9 height, I wasn't very physically imposing, but upon a closer look, my muscles were firm and well-developed due to my wolfish nature. Oddly enough, for a werewolf, I wasn't _that_ hairy - a light down graced my arms, legs and chest, and I only had a bit of stubble on my chin. After throwing on some clothes, I crossed over to one of the five sinks in the bathroom, where I ran a comb through my damp brown hair, brushed my teeth, and washed my face. After drying off, I glanced one more time into the mirror. Amber eyes peered back, ever-present dark circles beneath them giving my face a slightly haunted look.

I stepped out of the steamy bathroom just as Frank and Peter entered, both of them looking as if another eight hours of sleep would suit them much better than the prospect of breakfast and class. After exchanging brief "Morning"s with them, I stepped back into the dormitory to find James bending over a still-sleeping Sirius. The aforementioned was holding a can of whipped cream directly over Sirius' face, and upon seeing me, jumped about a foot in midair. I grinned to let him know I was okay with the prank (Sirius' good-looks were something we all liked to make fun of) and watched, amused, as James neatly covered his best friend's nose with the fluffy white sugar. He fished a cherry from his back pocket and held it out to me, mouthing "_You do the honors_". Stuffing a fist in my mouth to suppress my laughter, I daintily placed the bright red berry on the tip of Sirius' whip-cream mountain of a nose. James looked like he was going to explode from laughter and as he caught my eye, I knew exactly what both of us were thinking - _get the camera. _

After snapping a few dozen pictures, enlarging them by tenfold and plastering them all over the Gryffindor common, James and I collapsed in our favorite squashy armchairs by the fire.

"Good work, Moony," he breathed, exhausted, staring up at the enormous photos of Sirius snoring gently.

"Yeah, you too," I panted back. "Brilliant idea. I bet Sirius never saw it com-"

"AAARRRGHHHH!" came the voice of our beloved Padfoot from upstairs.

I caught James' eye and we both grinned.

* * *

By the time the entire Gryffindor tower had caught a glimpse of Sirius' new "makeover", he'd already been dubbed the nickname "Cherry Pie". Disturbingly enough, I heard one fifth year whisper to her friend that she wouldn't have minded cleaning him up before the two of them collapsed into giggles.

To our horror, Sirius didn't take it badly at all. He washed it off, of course, casually called James and me some words I probably shouldn't repeat here, and took all the photos off. But no glowering, no hexes, not even a raised eyebrow. Instead, Sirius "Cherry Pie" Black walked around the rest of the day with a big, knowing smirk on his face.

This made James and me very nervous. Even Frank said to us sympathetically as he climbed out of the portrait hole, "I feel really bad for you two - if there's one thing Sirius Black can get, it's revenge." And we watched him walk away, horrified.

"Do you think we should throw these away?" James whispered to me, covertly taking out a few extra photos we'd "forgotten" to tell Sirius about.

"No!" I hissed back. "Listen, whatever Sirius does, it can't be worse than what we did to him. In fact, I bet he's just bluffing. He...he'd probably laugh if he see how pathetic we're being. Just keep your cool and we'll be fine...I think."

James still looked dubious as we headed toward the Great Hall.

Breakfast was quick - we'd missed most of it anyway. Lily was sitting further down the table with her friends. Our eyes met once, and she gave me a brief smile, but the second ended rather abruptly when Peter poked me rudely in the back.

"Oy, schedules!" he said apprehensively as the cards were handed to us.

I was delighted to find that we had Defense Against the Dark Arts with Ravenclaw first. It was my forte, and Professor Banks was one of my favorite teachers at Hogwarts.

"Hello, everybody," Banks greeted the class when we'd all entered and sat down 15 minutes later. An ex-Auror, Bartholomew Banks was everything a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher should've been - strict, keen and fair.

"I hope you've all had a good summer," he said briskly. "But now that you all have finally reached your seventh year here at Hogwarts, I must bring up an issue most of you've undoubtedly heard about - and dreaded. There's no need to look so frightened, Mr. Pettigrew. If you hadn't achieved an O.W.L. in Defense Against the Dark Arts two years ago, then you wouldn't be sitting in that seat today, so that tells me that all of you are perfectly capable of passing your N.E.W.T. in this class with at least an 'Acceptable'."

"Now, ladies and gentlemen," he waved his wand, and minuscule print appeared on the chalkboard behind him. "This is a general overview of what you can expect to be tested on. Obviously we have yet to cover the Unforgivable Curses (a small shudder rang throughout the room), the Patronus charm, and many others listed at the bottom, but you should be familiar with the majority of these topics already. As your professor, my main objective this year will be to prepare you for your final examination. Now, please copy these subjects down."

The room was filled with the rustling of parchment and the scratches of quills. I felt a wave of nausea as I started writing - there were so many subjects to review...

Looking around, I saw that most everybody else had anxious or worried expressions. Sirius, however, looked as composed as usual, a haughty expression resting his face as he lazily scrawled the topics down on his parchment.

After we'd all finished, a few people took out their wands, looking hopeful. However, Banks was intent on the subject of N.E.W.T.s again, and for the first time ever, Defense Against the Dark Arts was not any more interesting than History of Magic as Banks launched into a long, winding lecture about how we should prepare for the dreaded tests ("Personally, I would recommend at least two hours of studying each night, starting sometime around November.").

By the time class was over, even Sirius looked a little concerned.

Next was Arithmancy. Sirius, Peter and James, all of whom were pureblood and didn't know anything outside the wizarding world, took Muggle Studies. I said goodbye to them and headed down to the first floor. Entering the classroom, I took a seat next to an old friend, Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was Keeper and Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

"Good to see you, Remus," Kingsley greeted me in a deep voice. "How was your summer?"

"Not bad - yours?"

"Could've been worse," he replied. Then, with a wide grin spreading over his face - "Listen, Damien Bones told me about that stunt you and James pulled on Sirius. Bloody good idea, mate!"

"Er, thanks," I replied nervously. Before Kingsley could say anything more, though, Professor Vector had strode purposefully into the room, and after enduring a lecture similar to (but thankfully, shorter than) that of Banks' on N.E.W.T.s, we were instructed to turn to Chapter 1 and begin working.

* * *

After an uneventful lunch (except for the first year Gryffindor who came up to our table, her face crimson, who blurted, "Siriuswillyougooutwithme", and without even waiting for a reply, turned on her heel and fled), I spent the 45-minute break with James, Sirius and Peter outside, where we sat under the usual beech tree by the lake. In contrast to yesterday's storm, the weather was perfect - clear skies, warm sunshine, and a slight breeze. Most students were outdoors, some zooming around on broomsticks, others tickling the giant squid. To everybody's disgust, Narcissa's blonde cronies had taken up the muggle hobby of cheerleading, complete with green and silver uniforms, and loud choruses of "We're Slytherins, we're cunning, our wardrobes are so stunning!" rang across the fields as Narcissa herself stood by with the usual sneer on her otherwise beautiful face, apparently too above everybody else to join in on the energetic chants and cheer routines.

"Now I know why mothers eat their young," I commented dryly, glancing up from my book.

"How long d'you reckon it'll take McGonagall to storm out and give the lot detentions for a week?" James asked as a loud "Like yeah, we think, that green is the new pink!" made him wince.

Sirius, who had remained unusually quiet as he looked over at the Slytherins, now stood up. Without a word, he began to saunter towards the girls.

"Hey, Padfoot!" Peter shouted, scrambling to get up.

"What're you playing at?" James asked irritably, joining Peter as they made after Sirius.

Seeing as I had no other options, I sighed, put my book down and followed suit.

By the time I'd caught up with them, Sirius was already standing in front of the cheerleaders, who upon seeing that possibly the most popular male in the school was approaching them, had fallen clumsily out of their pyramid and were now brushing the grass and dirt off their skirts. An expanding ring of onlookers crowded to witness the scene - where Sirius Black was involved, there was bound to be excitement...

"Good day, ladies," Sirius smiled pleasantly, his smooth voice breaking the silence. "I have a bit of - ah, an _issue_ to speak with you about. Now, there probably isn't a single person here -" he gestured to all those surrounding him "who hasn't caught wind of your new routine. And I must say, for a bunch of Slytherins, you lot sure are the most energetic and lively cheerleaders I've ever seen. Even more so than veela."

The girls looked absolutely delighted at this last comment.

"We're glad you like it," one giggled.

"But that's where unfortunately, you're mistaken," Sirius continued, looking down at them calmly. "I _don't_ like it. Nobody does. Your rhymes sound like they were written by a two year old, your voices are dreadful on the ears, and you really do need to tailor your costumes, they look terrible. So ladies, if you don't mind, please do us all a favor and stop rubbing your stupidity off on the rest of the civilised population, because some of us have futures and do not wish to die at an early age from the ungainly sight and sounds of your - ah - well, _you_ may think it's cheerleading, but the rest of us regard it as a successful attempt at making yourselves seem more idiotic than you already are. Good day." He turned smoothly on his heel and began to walk away, the girls gaping wide-mouthed behind him, too shocked and insulted to think of an adequate comeback.

"Hold it, my _dear cousin_," came a cool, female voice. Narcissa Black had stepped out, and her long, thin wand was poised in midair, aimed directly between Sirius' shoulder blades. A few onlookers gasped. Narcissa wasn't somebody that not many people wanted to upset, much less duel with.

"Yes, Narcissa?" Sirius stopped but did not turn around, an obviously disrespectful gesture.

"Nobody insults my friends," she hissed, blue eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Oh, really?" Sirius asked in interest. His voice was still light as ever. "I believe I just did. Rather thoroughly, too," he faced his cousin with a smirk on his face.

"No matter how many people you have kissing your hems," Narcissa continued to glower at him, "You don't own the world, peacock boy. I think it's time you learn to show a little res-"

She was cut off abruptly by Sirius' sneering laugh.

"Why, I never thought this day would come! Of all people, the lapdog of _Lucius Malfoy _is giving me life lessons about _respect_!" he exclaimed in mock wonder. Then, nearing her, he said in almost a whisper - "But unlike you, Cissa dear, the dear old ways tactics of Lucius don't work for me. _My_ respect is not paid for in diamonds."

This last comment struck Narcissa deep. "Stupify!" she shouted furiously.

A dozen wands had whipped out to defend Sirius, but he himself was more than prepared. With a quick Shield Charm, he sent Narcissa's streak of red light back at her. She just barely dodged it, but in the process dropped her wand, giving Sirius the chance to raise his wand to attack -

"STOP!" I heard a familiar voice call out, before realising it was mine.

By this time, Narcissa had retrieved her wand, but she did not raise it again. Instead, like everybody else, she was staring at me, shocked. I knew exactly what they were all thinking - Remus Lupin never, _ever_ raises his voice. The looks on their faces would've been funny in any other situation. I had the sudden impulse to say, "Oh it's nothing, haha, I just wanted to see your reactions, carry on then," but Sirius was looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

"What, Remus?" he said calmly. For a moment, my throat constricted, but upon looking into his eyes, I saw no trace of anger, no sarcasm, no rebuke. He was slightly annoyed at being interrupted, but he wasn't mad.

"You can't attack a girl," I found my voice after a few seconds. Looking around, I saw that some people were whispering to their neighbors, frowning, but many others looked thoughtful, and some were now nodding in obvious agreement.

Sirius stared at me, his hand shaking slightly.

"You're right," he said after an eternity, and tucked his wand neatly back into his robes. The stunned crowd parted as he turned abruptly and headed toward the castle, James and Peter hurrying in his wake.

I blinked, miffed that I'd managed to dissuade Sirius from attacking the cousin he'd resented his entire life. Then, seeing as how everybody's eyes were still on me, I turned and quickly left the scene, feeling incredulous stares boring holes into my back.

The second I stepped into the castle, I nearly had a heart attack. Sirius was standing there, obviously waiting for me, while James and Peter hung in the background, looking anxious.

"Moony," Sirius mumbled uncharacteristically, and I was surprised to hear that his arrogant tone was completely gone. "I wanted to thank you in private. I-I lost my head out there, and if you hadn't stopped me from hurting her, I dunno how far I'd have gone."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "S'okay," I said.

"Don't look so happy," Sirius said warningly, the familiar mischievous grin creeping back up his face as we joined James and Peter. "We're not square yet. I haven't forgotten about this morning."

The warning bell sounded in hall, cutting off the moment. I found myself smiling widely as the four of us headed up to Transfiguration together. Everything was okay.

For the moment.

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**A/N: **Before you kill me, know that it wasn't my intention to divide Chapter Two, but seeing as how I'd already reached 5 pages of writing in size 9.2 Verdana before even showing Remus and Lily's meeting in the library, I realised I had to split it. Apologies, the cliffhanger continues, but I _did_ uphold my promise of more action, which should've kept you entertained...hopefully.


	3. Part Two: The Unexpected

**A/N:** Well...I finished Half-Blood Prince 7 hours after getting it. And I'm devastated, partly because quite a lot of this story will need to be altered, but mostly because...well, if you haven't read that far, you'll find out soon.

But balancing out these miserable feelings are of course, the wonderful reviews from readers of this story. A few words to these people whose words make me walk around with a big stupid grin ion my face:

**Kaischick** - I'm glad you enjoyed Chapter Two also! I had great fun writing it, as you can probably tell.

**Pumpkinpasty** - Oooh, your words cheered me up lots! I'm glad you mentioned the humor - this story _is_ eventually heading towards darker territory, but as of now, a few dry remarks here and there do brighten things up a bit, I think!

**UnanjelicHalo** - I feel very honored! And thanks for that tip, I'm a bit of a fanfiction amateur right now, it was very useful indeed.

**Jillie** - Your review left me so happy! I am pretty proud of my characterization of Remus too (not to sound snotty or anything), he's just a very nice and rather unlucky guy. Anyhow, thanks so much for your kind words, they made me want to write the next chapter ASAP!

**Aishteru** - Yup, lots of things are to come - I've planned out a pretty long plotline, so hopefully that should keep you happy!

**Azul **- Wow, a Rowling comparison, I'm flattered beyond belief! Actually, I do try to imitate her writing to _some _degree, especially the not-in-your-face humor, but her stories are much more complex, hehe. Thanks for reviewing!

**The Ebony Files**

**Chapter Two: The Perplexing and the Unexpected**

**Part Two: The Unexpected**

September 2nd, 1977

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs passed quickly. To our surprise, Professor McGonagall did not give the lecture on N.E.W.T.s we'd been expecting - instead, she set us to work immediately. After successfully mastering the spell in fifteen minutes, I spent the rest of the time helping Peter, who had somehow accidentally transfigured Damien Bones, a Hufflepuff, into an enormous cactus.

"Da-Damien, I'm so sorry!" sputtered Peter.

Damien the cactus, having no mouth, could not respond. Which might've been a good thing, because McGonagall certainly did not tolerate profanity in her classroom.

We eventually set him right, though Damien's brown hair still stood in spikes.

"Don't tell your mother," Peter implored apologetically.

"Nah, she won't care, she's a Muggle," Damien replied good-naturedly. "So's my father. After six years, they're still boggled over the fact that their only child turned out to be a wizard."

After Transfiguration came History of Magic, a class everybody dreaded. Professor Binns, our old and rather senile Professor, didn't even acknowledge us as we glumly filed into the classroom and sat down. As usual, he wasted no time in launching into a tedious lecture in his monotonous drone, and as usual, I was the only student who paid attention and took notes. When the bell finally rang, a good quarter of the class was still sound asleep.

"Peter, wake up!" Sirius prodded the sleeping boy with his wand, accidentally sending a few sparks onto Peter's hair, which ignited. Amazingly, Peter slept on.

"Sirius, for the love of-" James grimaced, sending a stream of water from the tip of his wand to put out the small flames. At this, Peter awoke to find himself drenched.

"Wha 'appened?" he muttered, disgruntled. "Why'm I all wet?"

"Peeves flew in and threw a couple of water balloons," James lied smoothly.

As the four of us headed down to dinner, I began to feel nervous again.

"Moony, you alright?" James put down his fork in the middle of his meal, peering closely at me. "You're not looking too good, pal."

"Is it that time of the month again?" Sirius grinned.

"You know, Padfoot," I said dryly, "That joke would actually be funny if you didn't repeat it eight times a day."

"But I'm serious!" Sirius said, biting his tongue down to keep from laughing. James and Peter groaned loudly. Sirius _never_ got sick of his serious-Sirius joke. He said it was the one decent thing his parents did - give him a name he could amuse himself with.

About halfway through dinner, I announced that I had to go to the library to look something up for my Arithmancy homework. Which wasn't a total lie - I _did _want to check out a book.

"Oy," Sirius said, bolting up. "You've reminded me - I've gotta run, too."

But his eyes were fixed hungrily on a bunch of Slytherins, led by Severus Snape, who'd gotten up from their table.

I caught James' eye. This wasn't looking too good.

"Er-" James began weakly. "We've got that Transfiguration essay due, Padfoot, why don't we-"

"I finished it during History of Magic," Sirius replied briskly, already heading down towards the staircases, the same direction that the Slytherins had taken.

"I'll go after him," I volunteered, thinking that I had enough time to convince Sirius out of whatever he was set on doing before my rendezvous with Lily. James shot me a grateful smile before returning to his mutton chops.

I made my out of the hall and down several staircases before catching sight of Sirius' robes disappear around a corner. I sped up, but Sirius was way ahead of me. Panting, I hurried along the dungeon corridors, hoping that I would find the Slytherins before Sirius did...

Then, without a warning, a flash of white light caught my eye from down the corridor, followed by somebody yelling.

"SIRIUS!" I cried, breaking into a sprint. Rounding the corner, I saw Severus Snape on the ground, his books scattered, a furious expression on his face. His friends looked equally shocked and angry.

"What'd you do that for?" one of them rounded on Sirius, who was busy tucking something away in his bag.

"Well, it didn't kill him," Sirius snapped back. "Funny, though, by the looks of it, _Snivellus_ here isn't used to getting his-"

He stopped in midsentence upon seeing me. "Remus, what're you doing here?"

I didn't think it'd be such a good idea to tell Sirius I'd been patrolling him in front of all these angry Slytherins, so I made up something about having to see Professor Slughorn, the Potions teacher.

"Well, in any case, let's get out of here," Sirius said huffily, but there was a glint of excitement in his eye. We left the scene quickly, not wanting to anger the Slytherins further.

"Sirius, _what_ did you do to Severus?" I demanded once we were out of earshot.

"Nothing permanently damaging, it's only the second day of school," he replied nonchalantly. Then, sensing that this wasn't exactly the answer I'd been looking for, he shot me a sly wink.

"You'll find out when the time comes, Remus."

"Your attempt at sounding mysterious isn't working," I snorted, but I didn't press the issue further.

We reached the first floor.

"I'm going to the library. Where're you headed to?" I asked suspiciously.

"Dorms," Sirius faked a yawn. "Dead tired."

He obviously wasn't, but I decided that James could handle it from here as I watched his tall figure disappear up the stairs, a slightly uneasy feeling rolling around in my stomach.

Then, glancing down at my watch, I realised that dinner had ended ten minutes ago.

"Damn," I swore softly, breaking into a run for the second time that night. All thoughts of Sirius were soon forgotten.

* * *

I reached the library in record time. Stepping inside, I was taken aback to find that it was completely empty except for the librarian, Madam Pince, and Lily, whose red hair gave her away at once.

She smiled up at me as I took a seat opposite her. My stomach did an involuntary cartwheel.

"Er - hi," I said awkwardly.

"Hullo," she greeted.

"Where's everybody else?" I asked, desperate to look anywhere but at Lily's face.

"It's the first day of class, Remus," she said. "I doubt whether anybody's going to be in the library yet."

"Right," I said, feeling stupid. "Is that why you chose to meet here?"

Lily's smile broadened. "Not really. I didn't want to make it look suspicious for you, that's all."

I felt the color rise in my cheeks. She was right again - nobody in their right mind would've given a second thought to bookish, diligent Remus Lupin heading to the library.

"Er, good idea," I said lamely.

"You were probably wondering why I asked you to come, Remus," Lily said softly. Despite myself, I turned and faced her. She was gazing at me intently, her expression quite serious.

"Yeah, I was." I said. My heart was pounding like a hammer against my ribcage.

"Well, it's because -" Lily blushed, stammering a little.. "I kind of - well, I like you."

I shot her a puzzled look.

"Well, yeah, I like you too, Lily, you're a good friend and all-"

"No, Remus," she said. "What I meant - what I mean is, I...er..." she trailed off, looking at me expectantly.

I stared at her for a second, and then the words registered.

"But - you - I -" I croaked. "You don't - can't - James -"

A look of annoyance flashed across Lily's face. "I don't care about what James would think," she said huffily.

"But Lily, he's fancied you for ages-"

"Well," she said pointedly, crossing her arms, "I've fancied _you_ for ages."

This made me shut up.

"Look, Remus," Lily started. "I'm sure James is probably a nice person underneath, er, a lot of other things, but I'm only stating the truth when I say he acts like an arrogant prat. The way he treats other people like he's above them all...it's just filthy and so...so indecent."

"He - really likes you," I said, at a loss for better words, because deep down, I knew that Lily was right.

"But the thing is, do _you_?" Lily asked bluntly.

I felt my cheeks flushing again.

"I don't know...it's complicated...why don't you..I dunno...go for Sirius or something?"

Lily laughed. "What, and be ripped into pieces by all the other girls in the castle?"

I smiled weakly. She had a point there.

"Listen, Remus," Lily said, her tone matter-of-fact again. "You're - you're one of the few truly decent people I've met. I don't care about Sirius' good looks or James' stupid Quidditch - there are more important things in life than above popularity and attention, things like intelligence and bravery and selflessness. Things that I value in a person. I saw what happened with Narcissa this afternoon. That must've taken a lot of courage on your part, Remus, choosing what was right over what was popular."

Despite everything, I felt a surge of warmth swell in chest. Lily thought I was brave...

_No_, a voice inside my head whispered, bringing me out of my reverie. _You can't do this. You're a werewolf, a monster, a freak...Lily deserves somebody else, somebody untainted..._

I sighed heavily and looked into Lily's large green eyes.

"Lily, I'm not lying when I say that you're the girl I - I respect. A lot. But there are complications, I'm very busy, I would make a terrible-"

"How do you know you'd make such a terrible boyfriend?" Lily fired back. "You haven't given anybody a chance! Remus, please, don't be difficult with me...I just want an answer..."

"Look, Lily, it doesn't matter if I like you or not, okay?" I retorted. I was angry now, angry with her, angry with James, angry with myself. Why did everything have to be so _difficult? _"The fact is, there's no way I can...I don't know...it's complicated..."

"Well, if you're going to reject me so rudely, I'd at least like some sort of explanation," Lily glared at me.

I sighed again. There was no way around it - I was a terrible liar, and Lily's searching eyes would surely detect that I wasn't telling the truth if I attempted to hoodwink her...

"Alright, then. Here's your explanation," I said crossly. "I shouldn't be telling you this, Dumbledore would kill me, but I - I'm a werewolf. I turn into a mindless and dangerous monster at the full moon. I'm not safe to be around anybody."

I'd expected her to gasp, to push away from the desk, to suddenly be filled with a deep loathing for me -

But to my surprise, Lily Evans' scowl changed into a wide grin. "That's not a valid excuse, I know that already."

I blinked. "You _know_?"

"Of course I know. I was miserable every time you weren't in class," she said quietly. "It was pretty obvious - disappearances once a month, your moon boggart, your exhausted state - but none of that matters," she waved a hand. "I don't care about that."

"What do you mean, you don't _care_? I - I'm a reject, Lily, I'm not normal! You can't even be around me! My - my condition doesn't allow me to keep my mind, I'm a danger to everybody that I care for-"

I froze suddenly, realising my blunder a split second after I'd uttered it, but Lily was smiling teasingly at me. "So you _do_ have feelings for me, Remus Lupin."

"I never -"

"Don't worry. I knew that already too. You're not very good at hiding things, you know. Oh, and I also suspected you were going to use your lycanthropy as an excuse, so I spoke with Professor Slughorn."

I paled. "You - you told him?"

"No," Lily said lightly. "I influenced him."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Lily smiled coyly as she gathered up her books. "That you'll have to find out until Friday's lesson to find out."

Sensing she was about to leave, I stood up too, my eyes fixed on hers.

"Lily, you can't possibly just - just walk out that door, leaving me hanging like this."

She acted like she didn't hear me. "Remus, I want you to consider what I've said tonight."

I snorted. "Like I really wouldn't otherwise."

She smiled. "Meet me here Friday, same time. By then, an answer from you would be nice."

"But-"

"Night, Remus." Before I knew it, Lily had taken my hand into hers and given it a quick squeeze. Then, quick as a flash, she disappeared.

I scowled, feeling more confused than ever, and picked up my things to leave.

First Sirius, then Lily. It seemed like everyone was keeping a secret from me.

* * *

Upon climbing into Gryffindor Common ten minutes later, James immediately seized a handful of my robes, pulling me roughly to the side of the portrait hole.

"Moony-" he whispered, looking absolutely petrified.

"What?" I hissed back. But he didn't reply, for Sirius Black had just noisily slammed the door of our dormitory behind him and was now descending the stairs, the trademark smirk on his handsome face. He began to converse loudly with a pretty fifth year, shooting big grins at us every few minutes.

"Oh, don't be such a coward," I huffed, grabbing James' wrist. "Come _on_."

James only half-heartedly resisted as I tugged him across the room and up the stairs. Determined not to let my own uneasiness show, I twisted the door open and stepped into the dim dormitory. Allowing my eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness, I made a quick glance about.

"He didn't do anything," I called out to James, who was still standing outside. He cautiously entered. It was then that I realised that the hangings around both our four-poster beds were drawn shut. James seemed to register this too. Slowly, wands out, we approached our bedsides.

"One, two, three-" I said, and simultaneously, James and I curled our fingers around the velvet curtains and wrenched them apart -

Pasted all over the insides of our hangings, our pillows, our sheets and blankets, were the scowling, moving faces of none other than Severus Snape. Dozens of angry flashing eyes glared up from behind sheets of oily, black hair.

"Stupefy!" James immediately cried, blasting a gigantic hole in one of his pillows.

"James!" I exclaimed, exasperated. "Stop! It's just a stupid charm - oh,of course - Sirius went down to the dungeons earlier to take a picture of our favorite Slytherin, and now he's enlarged them and pasted them onto our bedthings. Simple, really," I remarked. "_Finite!_"

The Snapes remained there, scowling. Then, without a warning, they opened their mouths and in eerie resemblance to Narcissa's blonde cheerleaders, started chanting:

"_You dirty rotten scumbags,  
__You dimwits shoulda guessed,  
__That from the moment you laid a hand on Sirius  
__He'd return to make a mess._

_And so that's why we're here now,  
__Forty-eight copies, all on your bed  
__See, Severus Snape has offered to come  
__And to kiss you night instead._

_Now until you've learned your lessons, boys  
__I'm afraid I won't be leaving  
__You can cry and you can shout and scream  
__But no one'll listen to your weeping._

_This should make you think  
__Before you attempt another try  
__At taking advantage of your friend in slumber  
__With love, from Cherry Pie."_

I groaned and turned to look at James, whose forlorn expression mirrored my own. If these Snapes said that they were here to stay, then Sirius definitely put some kind of sticking charm onto them. And Sirius' charms usually worked well.

"Sleeping on a couch in the Common tonight, Moony?" James asked despairingly.

"Yup," I replied, grabbing my nightclothes.

Merlin, what an evening.

* * *

**A/N: **I personally disliked this chapter, but the Lily thing is very important to the overall plot, so it had to be done. Please, bear with me here, I won't turn this story into a mushy-gushy romance thing. There's still going to be _much_ more to come, including what's going to happen in Potions, as well as the actual introduction to the Ebony Files! Review and I shall cherish your words! 


	4. An Unlikely Partnership

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay. I had a mild case of writer's block and used that time to go back and edit the previous chapters. It's painfully amazing how many little mistakes and misspellings I found. I also changed the Potions teacher from Vinitreau to Slughorn, for obvious reasons.

Thanks to everybody who reviewed. Your words make me walk around all day with a big goofy grin on my face. I cannot continue to address every single reviewer, as that would take up too much space, but have confidence that I do read and re-read all of your comments.

Some things I wanted to clarify (kind of like a small F.A.Q.) -

**aurelie1** : ...I didn't think Remus' attitude was very natural about Lily. I mean he should at least be tempted and should take a few more precautions before announcing he's a werewolf, shouldn't he?

Remus has never had any experience with girls - he's only thought about them and sometimes wished he had a girlfriend, so naturally he was completely blown out of the water and maybe even a little upset when Lily (very courageously) announced her feelings.

Keep in mind that the Lily/Remus thing isn't the _biggest_ deal. Yeah, it's gonna contribute to the storyline, but there's lots more too! And I never intended this story to be a romance, just a general Marauders thing, although Drama with a capital D is lurking in the horizon...

**Allacaya **: Narcissa is younger than Bellatrix or they are in the same year?

Other way around. Narcissa's a seventh year, same age as the Marauders, while Bella is one year younger. The sisters, although they have a relatively good relationship, are quite different, which is why they're not in the same social group.

**Mayachild **: Are you planning to bring in some S/R?

Very good question. The answer, however, is going to be up to you to interpret. There won't be any blatant snogging or any of that, but Sirius and Remus _do_ have a rather special relationship. Right now, though, Remus' love life is currently focused on a certain somebody else...

Thanks again to everybody - your words are well-appreciated!

**The Ebony Files**

**Chapter Three: An Unlikely Partnership**

September 6th, 1977

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

When you're anxiously anticipating something, a curious thing seems to happen to time. A second drags itself out much longer, there seem to be thousands of hour in a day, so on and so forth. In short, I could not wait for Friday's Potion class to arrive.

The days passed by at a snail's pace. Between stressful classes, ridiculous loads of homework and devoting all my free time to helping Peter with his schoolwork, I had no room for anything but academics. Night was a completely different story. Taking refuge in the Common was out of the question now, for many people seemed eager to give us a taste of our own medicine, and after James awoke with a lacy red bra glued to his chest and me with my feet transfigured into watermelons, we decided to give up and head back to our dorms.

But I soon came to discover that lying awake in the midst of a few dozen Severus Snapes was just as disconcerting. I'd managed to put a silencing charm on the lot, but their constant blinking and scowling were most unpleasant, especially in the dark. In these sleepless nights, I found my thoughts drifting to Lily...

Half of me was _terrified_ that Lily Evans liked me. I knew for a fact that James would be upset if he found out. Well, 'upset' was an understatement - 'suicidal' was more like it. He'd probably grab the nearest Bludger at the upcoming Quidditch match, hurl it fiercely in my direction, and then dramatically throw himself off his broom, yelling on the way down "I love youuu Lilllyyy!" before crashing to his premature death.

Needless to say, I did not fancy that idea.

But the other half, the other half of me was secretly delighted, because Lily Evans _liked me. _I never would've seen it coming, not in a million years. Lily was the girl every guy wanted - she was intelligent, she was kindhearted, she was beautiful and she'd picked _me_ of all people, of all the good-looking and popular guys who'd asked her out, she'd actually liked _me_ all this time...

On these nights, I allowed my imagination to wander away, dreaming, pondering, thinking endlessly about Lily, and what it would be like if we were to act upon our desires, free from the whispers of other students, the stricken, betrayed look on James' face...

But in the daytime, especially when I was around James, waves upon waves of guilt crashed upon my conscience, and the little voice in the corner of my mind whispered that James was more important than Lily, he was a better friend, that I couldn't, _couldn't_ even consider it...

Finally, after endless hours of anticipation, I stepped into the chilly Potions classroom alongside James, Sirius and Peter on Friday afternoon. A few Slytherins shot us sour looks as we passed, including Severus Snape, but Horace Slughorn, our enormous, mustached Professor, gave a loud cry of joy before we could return the favor to the Slytherins.

"Oho!" he exclaimed, rushing over to shake hands and pat us on the back. "Well, if isn't James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, the very Princes of Hogwarts themselves!"

I could sense Peter's deep scowl without even looking over. But who could blame him? Slughorn's affection for the well-connected and the talented was infinite, and poor Peter neither had Sirius' heritage nor James' Quidditch reputation nor my talents in the classroom to boast of. Consequently, he was always left out whenever the three of us were issued invitations to join Slughorn in private parties and meetings of 'The Slug Club', though truthfully, nobody really liked to go - James and Sirius always said loudly that it was a waste of precious time that could've been spent charming pencils to shoot up Snape's nostrils.

Slughorn's attention was suddenly parted from the three of us, for Lily Evans had just walked into the classroom with a few of her girlfriends. It was a well-known fact that Lily was Slughorn's treasure, his Diamond in the Rough, so to say. He lumbered over to her and immediately started chatting away loudly as more students filed in and the four of us took seats at the Gryffindor table.

A few minutes later, Slughorn reluctantly let Lily sit down (she shot me a slight wink as she passed, and I felt my lunch do a pirouette). He then stepped up in front of the class, beaming.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts," he said, clapping his fat hands together. "Hope you've all had yourselves a fantastic break - I spent two weeks in Bermuda with the Minster of Magic himself, not a chance you get every day, ladies and gentlemen, not at all. But ah, I digress," he chuckled to himself. "We're here to discuss something much - much more important. Something that will account for over sixty percent of your final Potions N.E.W.T. grade."

At this, the class sat up straighter. I glanced over at the Slytherins and saw that Severus Snape's black eyes were fixed hungrily on Slughorn, who was now pacing the room, obviously enjoying the effect of his words on the class.

"What I'm talking about, of course," continued Slughorn,"is your Potions Partner Project for this year. I see many of you look as if you've been hit with the Confounded Charm - I presume it's because you've never heard about one such project from your older classmates. That's because this is our first year trying it - Dumbledore's agreed to the idea, and it took ages to pass with the council, but once they heard that Horace Slughorn would be teaching...well, let's just say I have my contacts," he winked.

"Over the course of the next nine months, you shall be working with another student in an attempt to invent an original draught or potion. No, Sirius, I've already assigned your partner, so you can let go of Remus' arm, I'm afraid he'll lose feeling in that area if you hold on much longer. I have deliberated these assignments for a long time, and after ah, taking several _outside influences_ into consideration," - his small eyes flickered towards Lily - "I've made my decisions."

The whole class was eerily silent, everybody's attention focused on Slughorn, who had taken a piece of parchment from the pocket of his splendid velvet robes and was now studying it, smiling teasingly.

"Yes, yes, I do believe I've made some very good matches here, it should teach you lot a thing or two. Without further ado, then. James Potter and Frank Longbottom, you two shall be contriving an Invisibility Potion..."

By now, I'd developed a shrewd idea of what Lily had requested from our Potions teacher. It was very obvious, really, Slughorn would've agreed in a second, and the two of us paired together would instantly give him a team to favor about all others. But that still didn't solve the problem of my lycanthropy, as Lily had hinted...

"Lily Evans, you shall attempt to create an antidote for basilisk poison with..." Slughorn announced loudly, and I braced myself, waiting for him to say my name.

"Sirius Black!"

Both James and I whipped around, him to stare accusingly at Sirius, and me at Lily. Consequently, we bumped our foreheads rather hard, and I felt my eyes start to water from the pain.

"Shut up!" James hissed at Sirius, who had of course witnessed our collision and was sniggering uncontrollably. "Damn, Moony, what d'you have instead of brains, cement in there?"

I was too busy looking at Lily to answer him - she'd mouthed, "_Gotcha, didn't I?_" and was smiling ruefully at me...

"Remus Lupin, my dear boy, pay attention now, you and Severus Snape have a rather difficult one...I want the two of you to come up with a potion to counteract the loss of the human mind during a werewolf's transformation."

Peter gasped loudly, James accidentally missed the bruised forehead he'd been rubbing and poked himself in the eye, and Sirius very uncharacteristically fell out of his chair.

Slughorn frowned, looking over. "Something wrong, boys?"

"No, sir." Sirius said, seating himself again. "Just lost my balance."

"Yeah, you put too much mousse on one side of your head, which unbalanced you," James muttered, rubbing his eye.

My first reaction, however, was to whip around to see Severus' reaction.

Taking into consideration that Severus Snape knew all about my "furry little problem", he should've recognised the irony of the situation - working with a werewolf on an anti-werewolf potion project - but from the look on his face, Severus didn't appear to be too humored. I saw that his thin, pale fingers were balled into tight fists, and his eyes definitely had a hardened look to them as he continued to stare at Slughorn. His Slytherin friends, however, were whispering loudly among themselves and shooting accusing looks towards me as if it was somehow _my_ fault that Slughorn had put us together.

"Oy, Moony, that's just tough," Sirius grimaced.

I nodded distractedly as Narcissa was assigned to work with Alice.

"At least you'll have somebody to test your potion on," James grinned weakly.

"But it's _Snivellus_ he's working with!" Peter pointed out unnecessarily.

I bit my lip and chanced a quick glance over at Lily. In the briefest of seconds, I saw something in her large green eyes that I did not recognise - was it just my imagination, or did she actually look guilty?

I had no time to think about this, for Slughorn was now speaking again.

"Now that you know who you'll be working with for the upcoming semesters, you must gain a deeper understanding of _what_ you'll be doing. Because everybody's project is unique, I shouldn't want to waste your time, so without further ado, _accio_ _scrolls_!" he flourished his wand.

A dozen colorfully sealed scrolls rose from Slughorn's desk and shot through the air, narrowly missing the heads of those sitting in front. One halted in front of me, suspended in midair. I quickly untied the black ribbon, unfurled the parchment and scanned its contents:

_**Remus John Lupin & Severus Snape**_

_**Objective: Contrive a potion whose effects would prevent a werewolf from losing his human mind at the full moon. Side effects should be kept to a minimum.**_

_**At the end of June, you are expected to give a formal presentation in front of many important figures in the Wizarding community as well as hand in a 175-foot manuscript on your project. Attached is a list of books you will find helpful in your research. Materials not available here may be ordered with permission.**_

Then, at the bottom, Slughorn had scrawled in his crooked handwriting:

_This is, by far, the most challenging project I have assigned to any partnership in the class. If you wish to, at the end you may submit your project to be approved of and patented by the Ministry of Magic. I have complete faith that you two shall succeed. The best of luck!_

I glanced over at Sirius. He was frowning deeply over his parchment, which was tied with a lavender ribbon. James had on a similar expression as he began to whisper anxiously with Frank, and Peter, who'd been assigned to work with Kingsley Shacklebolt, was staring at his sheet, silently mouthing "_One hundred seventy five"_ with an incredulous look on his face.

Murmurs now filled the classroom - to my horror, everybody was starting to talk with their partners, and the awful scraping of wood on stone rang out as students relocated themselves. I wondered if Severus expected me to move over to sit with him, but another glance at the expression on his face told me the immediate answer.

I spent the rest of the class sitting in my seat, feeling immeasurably stupid. Seeing that Severus also sat unmoving at his desk, I almost wanted to laugh aloud at how immature the situation was - two seventeen year-olds blatantly ignoring each other like toddlers who'd squabbled.

When the bell finally rang, I was the first to exit the classroom.

* * *

"Lily, _what _were you thinking?" I whispered fervently. Two hours had passed, and I now sat facing Lily in the same table we'd last met, trying to contain my voice from the sharp ears of Madam Pince, who was prowling around the bookshelves behind us.

"What do you mean? _You_ were the one ignoring him! Honestly, Remus, you're just as bad as James and Sirius!" Lily fired back.

"Nobody in their right mind would've gone within ten feet of him when he had _that_ look on his face!"

"What did you think he was gonna do, hex you right in front of Slughorn?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he did!" I yelled. Madam Pince was now making loud shushing noises at us while flapping her batlike arms.

Trying to maintain a straight face at the sight of a grown woman doing this, I lowered my voice. "Look, he's got it in for me, okay?"

"Don't be stupid, of course he hasn't got it in-"

"James tricked him into the Shrieking Shack during a full moon last year!" I blurted out. "Of course he hates me, I almost _killed _him! Or worse, bit him!"

Lily's eyes had narrowed. "James did that? He let Snape in on _your_ secret and put him in mortal danger?"

"Well, he got cold feet at the last minute-"

Lily was looking at me very hard, her eyes steely. When she spoke, her voice had a definite edge to it.

"Remus, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while now - why in the _world_ are you friends with James Potter? Sirius, he I can understand, he hasn't even got decent parents, but James has everything and yet he still chooses to act the way he does. How can you put up with it?"

"I don't, sometimes," I replied honestly. "If I hadn't held the two of them back from doing some things, I doubt whether they'd have made it alive into their seventh year. But for all his stupidity, James is still one of the bravest, funniest people I know. The good outweighs the bad, Lily, and nothing will change that."

She didn't look too convinced.

"Look, James doesn't matter right now, okay?" I said shortly. "This isn't about him at all, this is about-"

"Us." Lily finished for me.

I nodded. "And now I want an honest answer from _you_. Why didn't you just convince Slughorn to put us together? It would've made this whole thing so much easier."

"Well, Remus, think about it." Lily said quietly. "Did you see the way James looked at Sirius when Slughorn announced he and I were assigned together? The last thing I want is for James to find out about any of this. And besides, you and Severus are easily the best at Potions-"

"No, you're better than me-" I interjected.

"-so you two are going to do great on this project. I know it."

I sighed. "Apparently, Slughorn thinks so too. How'd you manage to convince him, anyway?"

"Oh, I can be pretty persuasive about what I want, you know." Lily grinned.

"That's very obvious."

There was a slight pause in the conversation - I still had a billion things to say, but somehow it seemed like none of them were important anymore-

"So you're willing to do it, then?" Lily's voice broke the silence. "Take a stab at creating this potion with Severus?"

"It's not like I've got any other options."

"Yeah, that's true." she said lightly. "So then, after all this pointless bickering, I think we've finally come to a decision point. Is there anything you'd like to say to me before this evening is over, Remus John Lupin?"

I took a moment to look hard at the girl sitting across from me. Her eyes were fixed unwaveringly back at me, and as the seconds stretched out, I realised that the guilt of being around James, the frustration of being partnered with Severus...those things were trivial, really, they were a small price to pay if in return, I could be with Lily Evans.

And when I told her this, she only smiled.

* * *

**A/N: **Wow, you have _no_ idea how difficult it was for me write that conversation. I thoroughly hope it was realistic, because I've gone over and fixed it so many times that I never want to read it ever again. Remember, I am the car and your thoughts and comments are my overpriced gasoline, so let's keep this engine running! XD 


	5. Chinese Takeout

**A/N:** Dude. I went back and realised that my previous A/N's are practically novels. So I'll keep this one terse - thanks to those who reviewed, and enjoy this chapter! pats self on back

**The Ebony Files**

**Chapter Four: Chinese Takeout**

September 10th, 1977

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Tuesday's Potion class. I'd dreaded this the whole weekend.

Severus didn't even look up as I dropped my books on the table and sat down.

The dungeon was filled with the chatter of other students, but between us there was only silence. The bitter, deadly kind.

After several millennia disguised as seconds, I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Okay, I know you're just _completely_ enamored with me, but you really should contain your excitement better, somebody might find out." I rolled my eyes.

I regretted saying this a second later. I'd just made a gay joke. To _Severus Snape_.

"Forget I said that," I muttered, wincing inwardly at the expression on his face. "Let's just get this over with. I managed to get most of the books Slughorn listed, but Madam Pince said somebody'd already checked out _The Complete Encyclopedia of Antidotes _and I couldn't find _A History of the Dangerous and Deadly_ either, so another student must've needed it for their pro-"

I stopped myself, for Severus had reached into his bag and pulled out the exact two books I'd just named.

"Oh," I said. "I thought - you - well, never mind, that's really great, Severus."

At the sound of his name, something angry flickered in his eyes.

"I thought it was _Snivellus_," he said icily. "Not so courageous when you haven't got precious Potty and Black by your side, are you?"

"Well sure then, if you really prefer that name then I have no problem with it," I replied sarcastically.

"_I_ don't have a problem with letting a few people know what you're really doing on those _sick_ days of yours, Lupin," he said in a low voice.

"I'm glad you don't have a problem with that, Severus. Congratulations. Now maybe if you just sort out all those other issues you have, like shampooing that pile of oil you call hair, you'd be almost normal-"

"Right, because you know exactly how _normal_ feels like, don't you, changing into a full-fledged monster once a month right under everybody's noses. You're just one big pathetic lie-"

"Yeah, well, at least I don't go around threatening others about incidents that could've gotten myself killed!" I said furiously.

"And you would've done it, wouldn't you, you sick monster, if Potter hadn't backed out, you would've bitten me-"

"Well, I usually order Chinese takeout when I'm in the mood for something oily-"

"Boys!" came the loud voice of Slughorn. Severus and I hastily tucked away our wands.

"Now, now, surely I only _imagined_ seeing that Mr. Lupin and Mr. Snape here were involved in the smallest of arguments?" Slughorn said, smiling at us. "You really mustn't bicker, boys, else your project (which I'm positive is coming along wonderfully) won't be finished in ti-"

"We weren't arguing, Professor," Severus said quietly. "You see, Remus here just misplaced all of our notes, so we were trying to remember where he last put them. That's all." A few titters rang across the dungeon, but James, Sirius and Peter were glaring daggers at Severus. They knew from 6 years of sharing a dormitory with me that I'd never "misplace all of our notes". Ever.

"What'd you do say that for?" I demanded once Slughorn was out of earshot. "We don't even _have_ notes!"

"Precisely," he said, his voice icy. "Now we have an excuse."

"Oh, that's real clever, yeah, and you just _conveniently_ heaped all the blame on me-"

"I try to kill two birds with one stone when the opportunity presents itself," he said coolly.

I stared at him, disbelieving. How could anybody be so _rude_?

"You know what? I give up," I said finally. "Trying to reason with you is clearly a waste of my sanity. Go on, then, start taking notes before I_ misplace them again_." I shoved a heavy stack of books toward him.

"Suit yourself," Severus said as he picked one up and began flicking through its pages.

Despite the freezing dungeon, I spent the remainder of class feeling hot and furious with myself, with Slughorn, but mostly, with the despicable Slytherin sitting across from me.

* * *

"He kept bringing up the werewolf thing, the stupid git! He even threatened to tell everybody! And did you see him lie to Slughorn? Saying that I, _I'd _misplaced the notes! I'd _never_ lose my notes! Ever! I'm _responsible_ and _organized_ and I-"

"Remus! Calm down! You're acting so unlike yourself it's getting scary," Lily stifled her giggle and pretended to be interested in her Charms textbook as Madam Pince prowled by, sniffing loudly.

We were in the library again. I stood in one aisle of books, pondering _Hexes from Hell_, while Lily stood innocently in another. Despite the thick bookshelf that separated us, we found that we could talk quite easily through gaps in the books and then immediately pretend to be absorbed in literature if anybody came near. Which didn't happen often, as we were in the Restricted Section. Lily had been granted unlimited access by McGonagall, and Slughorn had devoured my lie about some of the best werewolf information being in the Restricted Section like a box of crystalized pineapple.

It was a good way to communicate, albeit a nerdy one.

I made a quick glance about to see that Madam Pince was gone. "Sorry. I know I've been acting very un-Remus-like. It's just that the more stress I have to deal with, the shorter my temper becomes. And he was being so...so...I can't even think of a word to describe it without risking expulsion if Madam Oversized Bat here overhears me."

She laughed, smoothing her long red hair. "I can understand that he's irritating, Remus, but you did overreact to that misplaced notes thing a little, you know."

"Yeah, well, you wouldn't have been so happy either."

"Nah, I would've better about it," Lily said. "I'm not a perfectionist like you."

"Of course you are. Didn't you get 12 'Outstanding's on your O.W.L.s?"

"I got an 'Acceptable' in Defense. I accidentally looked away from my boggart on the practical when I saw that you'd stepped into the testing area next to mine," she said.

I mumbled something about "Pince coming" before ducking my grinning, flushing face behind a book.

God. She was so worth everything.

* * *

At suppertime, Sirius, James and Peter had a load of things to say about Severus, none of which were very kind. By the time dinner had ended and we'd climbed up the stairs to the Common, James had already announced that he was going to hit a Bludger up the Slytherin team captain's-

"We don't need to hear the details," I hastily cut him off as we sank into the squashy chairs by the fire.

But I was secretly grateful that they agreed with me. Knowing that I had James Potter and Sirius Black on my side was the greatest feeling in the world.

"So what were you guys really arguing about, if you didn't lose the notes?" Peter asked, pulling out his half-finished Transfiguration essay.

"Honestly, I don't know. We somehow started insulting each other, and he kept bringing up the - er, you know, my-"

"Furry little problem," James filled in, grinning.

"I hate it when you call it that," I said.

"It's a good cover," James said as Sirius nodded solemnly. They looked like idiots. "People just think you've just got too much nosehair or something when they hear it-"

"Yeah, like that time we made Snivellus' grow three feet-" Sirius started laughing.

"And then braid itself-"

"And you got a week's worth of detention for it," I reminded them.

"Yeah, where we found that map in Ogg's desk-"

"Which had all the secret passages-"

"And from that we were able to create the Marauder's Map," James finished proudly. "See? Some good came from it."

Despite myself, I had to laugh and agree.

"You know, in retrospect, I feel kind of bad about it. I was acting pretty rude too-"

"Nonsense," Sirius said loudly. "What'd you do, Moony, forget to say 'Bless you' when he sneezed?"

"No, it was worse than that," I blushed. "I told him that if I'd bitten him last year, he would've tasted like oily Chinese food."

Once they'd stopped laughing, Sirius turned to me, shaking his head.

"I don't know _what_ you're worrying about. He's got nothing on you, mate."

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, I know, this was kinda short. It's kind of a filler chapter - nothing much happens, but it was still wicked fun to write, especially the argument between dear Remus and Severus. God, how I love those two. 


	6. The Golden Room

**A/N:** Right, I said I couldn't continue doing this, but I just _have_ to say some things to the lovely people who've commented on the last chapter because a.) there were only three and b.) I adore you m -

**The Naz**: Your review made me laugh out loud! I do agree with you, though. Since I'm trying to stick with the books here, it's a given that er, some things will change. No more can be said here.

**z'yiandria**: Thanks for the helpful advice! You're right - the summary is a bit misleading, but I guess the Ebony Files will be the overall "plot point" and I couldn't fit in the trillions of other "sub-plot points that will contribute to the ending but not as much as the Ebony Files" so yeah. Does that make sense?

**Shorty51**: Awww, glad you liked the Remus/Lily thing! It's actually very fun and quick to write their conversations because I can just picture the two of them hiding behind books and sneaking peeks at each other...ah, fluff is good. Yes.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, your feature presentation-

**The Ebony Files**

**Chapter Five: The Golden Room**

October 27th, 1977

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Almost two months had already passed - Peter hadn't been accepted onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Severus and I were coming along with our Potions project, Sirius had already been "poisoned" six times with foods containing love potions, and James had led Gryffindor to a brilliant victory in last week's Quidditch game against Slytherin. I could scarcely believe it - it seemed like only yesterday that I was in the library with Lily, stammering and sweating over the confusion of it all...

Between classes and homework and her Head Girl duties, Lily and I were barely able to spend any time together. I saw her in some classes, of course, but talking to her with James sitting next to me was _very_ different from talking to her alone. In the evenings, we were sometimes able to snatch a few minutes' conversation in the library, but constant interruptions and our combined paranoia made it difficult to linger. And then there were the evenings in the Common that I spent with James, Sirius and Peter, her standing only a few agonizing feet away. The idea of abandoning my friends and walking over to talk to Lily Evans was laughable.

After a few weeks of this frustrating, limited communication, we agreed to start using private owls to send each other post. It was funny - here we were, listening in the same classes, taking our meals at the same bench, doing our homework at opposite tables in the Common, acting like friendly acquaintances who said hello in the hallways and occasionally made small talk - and yet we were madly corresponding through midnight mail.

Talk about a double life.

_Dear L,_ I wrote one afternoon, careful to conceal my parchment with my hands. Not that it really mattered - we were in History of Magic again. Peter was asleep, as usual, and James and Sirius were too busy shooting spitballs to notice me.

_As I write, you're sitting just two seats ahead of me, dutifully taking notes, and I have the stongest urge to fold this up into an airplane when I'm done and charm it to fly to you. _

_Potions with Severus has gotten better, actually, thanks for asking. The work is still slow, considering there isn't much information out there about my condition, but I think we've got the key ingredients down. We don't talk much either - he's not exactly a chatterbox, and I'd feel awkward if I just suddenly asked him one day what his favorite color was or something. The bloke's brilliant at what he does, though - I couldn't ask for a better partner. Sorry, can't same the same for you, Sirius told me yesterday about how he accidentally trodded that flobberworm before you could add it to your solution. He's actually very intelligent, Sirius, but he doesn't try too hard at what he doesn't care about. My condolences go out to you. _

_Speaking of things to be sorry for, did you happen to see _The Prophet_ this morning? Can you believe it - _four_ Dark Marks over different houses all across London, and all in one night! I heard that Heather Zinkley, a First Year, was pulled out of class, her family had been one of the four..._

_Hopefully this disturbing news won't affect the Hogsmeade Trip on Halloween. Which, I might add, we still need to work out a plan for. I know for a fact that James and Sirius are going, and Peter's tagging along, so they'll expect me to join them. Maybe we could get away for an hour and meet somewhere that's not flooded with people? Hog's Head comes to mind, but even that's going to be risky..._

_I should probably stop writing this now, unless you want to start lending me your History of Magic notes. Take care._

I paused, unsure of how to end the letter. Usually, I just said "Yours," and scribbled my name. But it'd been two months, and a little sentimentality couldn't hurt...

After a few seconds, I settled on

_Thinking of you, _

_R._

I rolled up the note, tucked it away in my robes, pulled out another clean sheet of parchment and reluctantly turned my attentions to Binns' lecture.

* * *

"Full moon's approaching," Sirius commented lightly that night, looking pensively out the window.

"You're telling me," I said.

The two of us were sitting on the window ledge of our dormitory, talking quietly. It was an old habit that had developed quite a long time ago - Sirius was a natural insomniac, and I could never sleep when the full moon was near, so for as long as I could remember, I always spent a few nights of the month talking by candlelight with Sirius.

"How do you feel?" he asked, playing with the hem of his pajama pants.

"Restless. It's the same feeling every time."

"You look like crap, you know."

"So much for being subtle."

"I wouldn't be one to talk," he muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said, my heart skipping a beat.

"Nothing."

I decided to let it go.

"You look good enough for the both of us, anyway." I smiled weakly.

Sirius brushed a strand of dark hair from his eyes, which were fixed on me with an unreadable expression. "Don't joke around like that. You really look bad, Remus. Those circles under your eyes...I could mistake you for a starving panda."

"It'll go away," I said softly.

"I think we should get drinks," he said suddenly, his eyes very bright. "You'd look better with hot chocolate in your system."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"But you love hot chocolate."

"We're gonna get caught."

"_Please, Moony?_"

I rolled my eyes and swung my legs off my seat. "What're you, eight?"

"Only compared to you," he grinned boyishly, knowing that he won.

He then leapt off the ledge and retrieved a folded square of parchment from his trunk. On our way out of the dormitory, I stopped to grab the thin, silvery cloak from under James' bed.

"We don't need it," Sirius said. "Ogg's in the West Tower."

"Just in case," I whispered.

We crept out of the dorm, made our through the portrait hole and reached the fruit bowl portrait in a matter of minutes, thanks to our extensive knowledge of shortcuts in the castle. As Sirius coaxed the pear to giggle, I checked the Marauder's Map again, and to my horror, saw a small dot moving towards our hall -

"Quick!" I said, throwing the Invisibility Cloak over Sirius just as Albus Dumbledore strolled into our corridor, humming placidly under his breath.

Sirius' finger was still on the pear, but we stood frozen under the cloak as the Headmaster neared. There was nothing to do but wait for him to pass - the pear portrait swinging on its own accord would surely attract his attention...

For one second as he neared, I had the nasty feeling that Dumbledore could see us plain as day. His blue eyes lingered on where we stood a bit too long to be just an innocent glance - but the moment was over in a flash and he moved on, his eyes twinkling in the darkness.

"Safe yet?" Sirius whispered. I squinted down at the map.

"Yeah." We threw off the cloak.

"I think that was close," Sirius grimaced the portrait opened and we stepped into the bright, noisy kitchen.

Before I could nod in agreement, we were immediately besieged by a dozen squeaky voices. The house elves all looked delighted at our appearance - they beamed happily up at us and tugged on our pajama bottoms with their little hands.

"We is pleased to see that Mister Black has brought his friend this time," one bowed, his long pointed nose grazing the floor. "What can we do for you, sirs?"

"The usual for me," Sirius said airily. "Remus will have hot chocolate."

Half a dozen little feet scurried away and returned seconds later, bearing a heavy tray with two large mugs and assorted pastries. They crammed biscuits in my pockets on our way out.

"Good, aren't they?" Sirius remarked ten minutes later, when we were comfortably settled back on the window ledge.

"Yeah, but don't they ever get tired of cooking?"

"I was talking about the drinks," he grinned. I narrowed my eyes.

"Sirius...why're you having coffee at this time of night?"

He shrugged. "Tastes good."

"But you had two cups at breakfast too! It's no wonder you don't get any sleep."

"Ah, but sleep is reserved for History of Magic," he grinned.

"Do you plan on living like this once we're out of school? Don't you want to find a girl, get married, settle down and start a family?"

He put his mug down. "I don't know," he said thoughtfully. "It just seems kind of boring."

"What do you mean, _boring_?" I said indignantly.

"Sure, girls are great to talk to, but why should I limit myself to sticking with one person for the rest of my life? I'd much rather just live with my friends or something, it'd be more exciting-"

"_Because,_" I said. "That 'one person' will mean everything to you once you meet the right girl, Sirius. You're still going to have friends, of course, but _she'll_ be the one you..." I stopped, grateful that in the semi-darkness he couldn't see my burning face.

We both knew the word that was hanging at the tip of my tongue, but just thinking about saying it was somehow really...weird. I was unaccustomed to this sudden distance - I usually had no trouble speaking my mind to Sirius-

"How do you know so much about all this?" he finally said.

"It's all around us," I said. "Look at how happy Frank is when he's with Alice."

_Look at me, Sirius. Haven't you noticed a difference?_

But Sirius wasn't looking - his face was turned toward the window again. Taking that our conversation had come to an end, I swallowed down the last of my hot chocolateslipped off the ledge, laid down on my bed and turned onto my side. The last thing I remembered seeing was Sirius' thin silhouette framed in the glowing moonlight.

* * *

"Remus, is that you? I'll be there in just a second, honey-"

"I'm fine, thanks. Take your time," I said, trying to ignore the loud moans of pain that were coming from inside the hospital wing.

Madam Promfrey's kindly face appeared at the door a few moments later. She smiled up at me as she buttoned on her jacket.

"Sorry about that, one of my patients got a Bludger right in the face, the poor boy, broken bones everywhere, not used to Skele-Gro, see-"

"S'okay," I bit my lip.

"You feeling okay, honey?" she asked as we started walking toward down the hall.

"I'm fine, thanks," I lied.

A cold gust of air hit us when we stepped out into the grounds. I tugged my robe a little tighter.

_It'll be over soon,_ I told myself as we crossed the Quidditch field.

We reached the base of the Whomping Willow a few moments later, the autumn leaves crunching under our shoes. Before its heavy branches even sensed that something was near, Madam Promfrey had expertly leapt forward and prodded a knot at its base, and the faint stirring stopped abruptly.

"Well, we're here," I said, turning. "Thanks, Madam Promfrey. I'll...see you in the morning."

She did not move, but instead placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me with her large, kind eyes.

"You're a good boy, Remus," she said, squeezing my shoulder gently. "You shouldn't have to do this."

I gave her a wistful smile before turning and bending into the crude opening at the base of the tree trunk. Once I was inside, the familiar mouldy smell of the place reached my nostrils. I crossed through the rooms I knew so well, carefully diverting my eyes from the wrecked furniture, the slashed curtains...

I reached the set of crumbly stairs and started to climb them slowly, dreading each step I took. I finally reached my "bedroom" - ah, and there was my four-poster bed, the sheets ripped to pieces...

I slowly began to remove my clothing. Transforming into a werewolf was different from turning into an Animagus form - while Sirius and James and Peter changed back into their human forms as they were, complete with clothing, mine only ripped as my body changed. It didn't make sense to keep replacing them, so I stowed my robes under the bed, where I wasn't exactly likely to go poking around as a werewolf.

Trying to ignore the empty, silent coldness that made my skin crawl, I walked over to the grimy old window and looked out. Far off was the village of Hogsmeade, its lights twinkling merrily. Funny, everybody who lived there thought the Shrieking Shack was haunted by ghosts and spirits, but it was only me, Remus, a teenager...

The clouds had shifted, and now I stood bathed in the cool moonlight. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

The pain began. It was slight at first, just a prickle, but a few seconds later it was spreading like fire, erupting from beneath the skin, furious hot needles stabbing everywhere-

I felt my body convulse as my bones begin to change, to shift. My nose lengthened, my spine began to curve, my tailbone elongated-

The agony of it was so pure, so strong. I bit my lip to keep from screaming, but it was in full effect now - I could feel my bones grinding against each other as they moved into place, and I was no longer shivering, but quite warm in my skin, and god, that rusty old smell was so much stronger, and as I glanced around, I was no longer blind in the darkness-

And then it started. The dreaded moment.

A wicked, black force with impossible strength invading my head, dimming my mind, pushing it down...

I was, quite literally, losing my mind-

"No, no!" I screamed, but my acute ears only heard growls...my thoughts and memories were fading, faster and further away...brief images flickered before me...my mum and dad waving...Severus bent double over his notes, frowning...the sunlight on Lily's hair...two large shadows looming by the door, a third scurrying around the bed...

And then, quite suddenly, I knew no more.

* * *

I was shivering like hell froze over.

I cracked open one eye. Through my bleary vision, I could tell that it was beginning to light up outside. I was lying naked on the cold, wet floor.

_Wet?_

I looked down and saw a puddle of dark liquid. Feeling nauseated, I quickly looked away.

God, it was cold.

Clothes. I need clothes.

With some difficulty, I got to my feet, only to collapse a second later, gasping from the pain, the soreness in my muscles, the searing in my chest.

_Get up_, my mind told me. But my body was too weak. _Get up, Remus. It's over._

_Yes, it's over._

Slowly, my teeth chattering uncontrollably, I pushed myself up again. It took me a minute to gather my breath. I took a few steps and clutched the railing of my four poster bed. Bending down, I grabbed the bundle of robes and forced them over my head. I reached clumsily into my pocket and took out my wand-

_Warmth. Light._

I whispered the charm to create fire, but my wand only choked out a few feeble sparks. I was suddenly disgusted with this weakness, even though I had it everytime...

Ignoring the blurriness in my eyes and the wetness streaming down my cheeks, I started to walk, taking small, painful steps. Through the threshold, down the stairs, past the broken rooms, up the tunnel..

I staggered my way through the field, the dew on the grass wetting my ankles. I don't recall how long I was out there in the cold, walking blindly, but at one point I started squinting into the distance - who - was that -

"Remus! Oh Remus, you're bleeding..." I heard a voice say before I felt something solid take my arm, guiding me inside the castle. The warmth of the body next to mine was making me absolutely delirious...

"Just around the corner," the voice whispered. I nodded as we passed empty corridors and blurred paintings. I trusted this voice.

I remember hearing the faint creak of a door opening, and then I was led into a warm, golden room, my head spinning. I felt myself being guided down onto something deliciously cool and soft, a pillow, yes, and a thick goosefeather blanket...

"Close your eyes," the person said. I did. One hand was rubbing something warm onto my chest. It stung a little, but I didn't mind because the other hand was now stroking my hair, delicate, shaking fingers wiping away my cold sweat...

I remember laughing a little as something strong and dry was wrapped tight around my abdomen...

"Rest yourself," the voice said.

"M'kay," I murmured, snuggling my face into the pillow.

Through the blurriness of it all, to this day I only remember that something changed on the person's face, a sad smile perhaps, before the figure disappeared through the door and I fell to my dreams.

* * *

However many hours later, I awoke to the aroma of a hot turkey dinner resting on the nightstand. I recognized this place - it was the Room of Requirement! I bolted awake, looking about wildly, but the room was empty and silent save my own labored breathing. Whoever it'd been was long gone, and I had the sinking feeling that I wouldn't be finding out the identity anytime soon.

* * *

**A/N: **This is my favorite chapter so far. I'd always had this very clear, very vivid idea of how Remus went through his transformation, considering JK never went into much detail, so it was relieving to finally get it down on paper. And I also just love the ending, because Remus doesn't know who this person is, and neither do you, my readers..but I sure do! Mwahaha. From these clues (or are they red herrings?), I know who you _probably_ think it is, and I know you're also considering a bunch of other candidates, and your opinions will probably change a few times as the story progresses, but you'll find out all in good time. Unless I get hit by a bus or something (Mean Girls, anybody?). Oh, God, that brings me to a thought, how _horrible_ would it be if JK Rowling suddenly like, dropped dead one day and we never find out what happens to Harry? Ah, that's too depressing to even think about...I'm going to console myself with chocolate.

(And once again I've written a novelesque Author's Note. Sigh.)


	7. All Hallow's Eve

**A/N:** _Mucho gracias_ to Shorty51, aurelie1, nanachama, silence kills me, amanda14, Aelan Greenleaf, Pottermaniac, lilian, kamers and pSyChOtIc-dOrK for reviewing. Your comments mean the **world** to me!

**The Ebony Files**

**Chapter Six: All Hollow's Eve**

"Moony, I'm _so _sorry..." Sirius moaned. "I didn't know what I was doing-"

"Don't worry about it," I grimaced, unraveling yet another layer of bloody bandages from around my middle.

It was the next morning - a Saturday, hence all the happy voices of students outside coming in through the window of our dormitory. In contrast, James, Sirius, Peter and I were all sitting (somewhat cramped) on my bed, surrounded by various bandages and tonics and ointments.

"So what happened exactly?" I asked, trying to divert their horrified attentions from the bleeding gash on my chest. "Sirius didn't exactly just bite me because he got hungry, did he?"

They exchanged nervous looks.

"Er-"

"It's complica-"

"Just tell me," I said impatiently. "I promise I won't get mad."

"You're really not going to like this one," Peter muttered in a low voice.

"That's obvious," Sirius snapped. "Look at him - he's bleeding like there's no tomorrow."

"Uh - you're the one who bit him," James reminded Sirius.

"Well, _you're _the one who came up with the dumb idea in the first place-" Sirius fired back.

"It wasn't _dumb_-"

"Why don't you all tell me what this 'dumb idea' was before you start arguing about it?" I interrupted.

Sirius and James stopped talking, but were still shooting slightly dangerous looks at each other, so I turned to Peter.

"Well?"

"Um," he said nervously. "What happened was - James had the er, idea of going into the Forbidden Forest. I mean, it wasn't unreasonable, we didn't think there was anything in there that could've hurt us-" he said quickly, glancing over at James, who looked rather pleased. Sirius' scowl deepened.

Encouraged by James' approval of his version of the tale, Peter continued. "Everything was great at first - but er, I guess the centaurs could still tell that we were human - except for you, of course - and they uh, they weren't too happy about us running around in their forest, so they started shooting arrows at us, and we all turned to get away, but you er, kind of attacked one - no, you didn't bite him," he said quickly, seeing the alarmed expression on my face. "But you would've ripped him to pieces if Padfoot hadn't er, stopped you-"

"With his teeth," I finished.

"Hey, it wasn't my choice," Sirius protested. "If you ask me, _somebody_ needs to shower more often-"

"Oh, that's hilarious, Padfoot," I rolled my eyes. "Why don't we all just take a dip in the lake next time? See if we can provoke the giant squid?"

"He was kidding, Prongs," Sirius said loudly. James' excited expression fell.

"Honestly, mate," Sirius continued in an apologetic voice. "I didn't mean it to be that bad, you weren't really even bleeding when we headed back to the Shack-"

"It's okay,"I said hurriedly. "It's stopped anyway."

Three pairs of eyes turned to the growing red stain on my fresh bandages.

"Sort of," I blushed.

"Why don't you just take it to Madam Promfrey?" James asked. "She can fix this kind of thing in her sleep."

"Yeah, right. I'll just march up and tell her that one of my illegal Animagi pals sank his teeth into my skin when we were running around in the Forbidden Forest, terrorizing centaurs in the middle of the night. She'd skin me alive and then feed me to threstrals."

Peter laughed, but James still looked anxious.

"Prongs, stop looking at me like that, I'm _fine_," I insisted one more time, tugging a shirt over my head. I swung my legs off the bed, ignoring the sharp pain in my chest.

"Come on, guys, breakfast isn't going to serve itself. Not even here at Hogwarts."

* * *

The next day was Halloween, which meant two things - the first Hogsmeade trip of the year, and in the evening, the traditional Hogwarts Halloween feast. With these two events in queue, it was almost guaranteed to be a perfect day.

After an unusually noisy breakfast, almost all of the third years and older students filed out of the castle in a long winding line, us toward the end. A gaggle of third year girls had deliberately stationed themselves very close to Sirius; they kept trying to catch his eye as he stared determinedly in another direction. James, Peter and I tried not to grin to much.

Once we were out of the building, I talked and laughed alongside James, Sirius and Peter as we made the walk down to Hogsmeade village, but I couldn't help myself from glancing at a certain group of Gryffindor girls every few minutes or so...

"Moony, _what _do you keep looking at?" Sirius asked after the eleventh time I'd tried to catch Lily's eye. I turned around so quickly that I felt something crick in my neck.

"I think _somebody's_ taken with Amelia Bones," James grinned.

_James, you're the stupidest, most oblivious bloke on this planet - I'm taken with the girl _you're_ taken with!_ I wanted to yell.

"Sod off," was what I said instead, rather unenthusiastically.

"Oooooh, he's upset!" Peter giggled.

"You know, I've had quite a few girls ask about you, Moony." Sirius winked.

I snorted. "Yeah, probably just as an excuse to talk to _you_."

"He's not kidding, mate," James smiled. "Chicks love the quiet, smart, gentleman-ly type. They think it's romantic. And plus, you're pretty good on the eyes too. Ruggedly handsome? Is that the word for it?"

I quickly clamped a hand over Sirius' mouth before he could make the gay joke.

"Ionnaickoo," he said, his warm breath ticking my palm.

"What - oh Sirius, that's disgusting-" I quickly wiped my wet palm against Sirius' robes.

"I said, 'I'm gonna lick you'," he grinned.

"Thanks for the translation," I rolled my eyes as I pushed open the heavy door of The Three Broomsticks. "Now that we're in a public area, you can stop acting your shoe size."

Peter went to get drinks as we settled ourselves on the familiar stools. For a few blissful moments, none of us said a word as we closed our eyes, cleared our heads and allowed ourselves to simply inhale in the heavenly aroma of freshly brewed butterbeer.

Then, James' eyes snapped open. "Merlin. I just had a bloody ingenius _relevation_."

"Revelation," I corrected him.

"Yeah, whatever. So get this - we're all seventeen years old!"

Sirius and I simultaneously shot him a look that clearly said, _no duh, James._

"Do you know what this means We're_ legal_, guys! We can order firewhisky!" he said excitedly.

"Like you didn't have enough at the Quidditch victory party," I muttered darkly. "I still have nightmares of your drunken renditions of David Bowie."

James acted like he didn't hear that last comment. "But this time it's legal," he protested after Sirius and I had stopped snickering.

"My mom let me'n Regulus have as much firewhisky as we wanted at home," Sirius said airily. "'Course, I didn't want any, you wouldn't've either if you'd ever _seen_ my mom drunk. Let's just say it's not pretty, watching her slop it all over herself and then blaming the filthy, unworthy half-bloods," he smirked. "Ah, Pete, great, you didn't spill everything on the way back. Drinks're on me this time, boys..."

We wound up staying in the cozy tavern for the better part of two hours. At noon, I set down my mug of butterbeer and licked my lips nervously.

"Sorry to cut this short, guys, but I've gotta go meet Severus," I announced unconvincingly.

"Eh?" Peter burped, and then giggled.

"Severus," I repeated, rising from my stool. "I have to work with him."

"Snivelly? Where?" James cried, looking around wildly. His hands kept slipping off his drained firewhisky mug handle and he was sporting a thick foam mustache. I felt horribly guilty as I watched him begin to hum David Bowie songs again, his normally sharp hazel eyes unfocused and glazed over. Under normal circumstances I would _never_ have let my friends consume so much alcohol - but it was a crucial part of the plan, and besides, the bartender wouldn't serve them more drinks if they reached the legal limit, which indeed all three of my friends looked like they'd accomplished.

"Yeah, uh, we've simmered the bowtruckle juice for three weeks now, so now it's really uh, important for us to see what's happened," I said quickly. "Um, since I'll be back at Hogwarts, if I could have the Map-"

Sirius obligingly reached into his robes and handed me the old folded parchment.

"Thanks," I said, pocketing it.

"Hafun with Snivy," James called drunkenly as I pushed open the door to leave.

"Oh, rest assured, I will," I smiled back, though none of them heard me.

Stepping outside, I was glad to see that there weren't many students on the streets. I hurried along, head bent, wondering if we could pull this off without anybody seeing...

I soon reached the front of the gates leading up to the Shrieking Shack, our meeting place. Nobody, not even the villagers, liked to linger here - they were all too superstitious. Lily hadn't arrived yet, but that didn't come as a surprise to me - it's much more difficult to convince your friends of something when they're sober.

Five long minutes passed before I heard footsteps. I turned around to see Lily striding towards me, smiling, her long red hair rippling behind her. In denim jeans, a thick wool sweater, a colorful tasseled scarf and leather boots, Lily could've passed for one of those beautiful American muggle girls you see in fashion magazines. Looking down at my own linen shirt rippling in the wind and torn jeans, I felt my cheeks burn a little. My family didn't really have the money to buy luxurious clothes, and most of the time I really didn't care one way or the other, but it was occasions like these that I wished I had something nicer to wear.

Lily didn't seem to mind, though. "Sorry I'm late!" she said, grinning apologetically.

"It's no problem. You look really nice today," I said truthfully. At this, she blushed, and I suddenly felt my happiness level soar, knowing that my words could have this affect on her. "Did you make that scarf?"

She nodded, absent-mindedly tracing its patterns with her fingers. "It took_ ages _without magic. Do you like it?" She playfully unwound it and draped it across my neck, where its colors clashed horribly with my shirt.

"I do, but truthfully, I also think it looks just a bit better on you than-" I stopped suddenly. Another figure was approaching from down the road, and here we were, the two of us alone, standing in plain view.

"What is it?" Lily said, seeing my expression.

There was no time to explain. I reached into my pocket and grasped the first thing my fingers touched - the Maruader's Map. I shoved at Lily, who looked very confused.

"Remus, what are-"

"Thanks for letting me borrow your notes," I announced in a deliberately loud voice, keeping my eyes fixed on the nearing figure. He was tall, pale, dark-haired-

"Severus?" I said, astonished. "What're you doing here?"

He stopped walking. "I might ask the same of you," he said in a low voice, his black eyes darting from Lily to me, then back to her.

"Remus was just giving me the notes he'd borrowed from yesterday's Charms class," Lily said, catching on. She held up the Maruader's Map. Unfortunately, it was blank.

"Is that _so_?" Severus' lip curled. "I don't recall Professor Flitwick lecturing us on absolutely noth-"

"You can't see the writing because she used Invisible Ink," I interrupted.

From the expression on his face, it was clear that Severus didn't believe a word I'd said. However, sensing that neither of us had anything more to say to him, he only sneered, "Nice scarf, Lupin" before turning around and leaving as abruptly as he'd come.

"What was that all about?" I turned to Lily once Severus' thin figure had disappeared down the road.

"I don't know," Lily frowned as she handed me back the Map. "I don't think he believed us at all, though. It's really strange, though, that he came here at this time, when nobody else ever does."

"I think he followed you from the village," I said. "I think - he's - I think he fancies you, Lily."

At this, she laughed. "Remus, you need to get your head checked. Severus _hates_ me, remember? He called me a mudblood-"

"Yeah, but that could've been a ruse, and he wasn't exactly in the greatest situation either, hanging in the air like that. Lily, he's always staring at you in Potions-"

"It's probably because he wants to see what you're looking at," she grinned.

"Not funny," I bit my lip, willing the color not to rise to my cheeks.

"Anyhow, I think _someone's_ afraid of competition," Lily said in a singsong voice. She sounded so much like James had this morning. "You should lighten up, Remus, I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I prefer werewolves over vampires."

"Brilliant," I said. "My species is above Severus' on the hierarchy of Lily Evans' taste in blokes."

She laughed. "Exactly. But you know, that could change if you're planning for us to stand _here_ in front of this crumbling shack on our very first date, Mr. Lupin," she teased.

"Yeah, I could go for a cappuccino right about now," I admitted. "Coffee sound good to you?"

"When does coffee sound bad?" she grinned. "What about that café you told me about? The one in your hometown? You promised you'd take me there one day."

"Indeed, I did," I said, extending my arm.

"Wait," she said, frowning. "This - this isn't illegal, is it, Remus? We're not really supposed to just - I don't know-"

"Oh come on, take a break from your Head Girl duties, Lily, it'll be fun-"

"I'm not sure, if Dumbledore doesn't really want us to be you know-"

I laughed. "I was teasing you, Lily. You sound so much like I do whenever I have to convince James and Sirius out of something. Before I even came to Hogwarts, Dumbledore arranged two special Apparation spots for me - one in a remote part of the castle, another on the Shrieking Shack grounds - to prevent me from transforming outside when the full moon was out - so although this is probably bending a few rules in the book, I can assure you that we won't have Ministry officials hexing us the moment we try to get out of here."

Lily nodded, looking more at ease as she took my arm. "Right. It's a good thing we both have some Muggle blood in our veins."

"Butterbeer in Hogsmeade, coffee in London," I grinned. "Best of both worlds. Hold on, now." I felt her grip tighten on my arm as I forced myself to concentrate on the quaint little café where I'd spent so many afternoons of my childhood reading and sipping coffee...

And then just like that, the two of us Disapparated from Hogsmeade village.

* * *

"Uh, Moony, you okay? You look like you're on something." Sirius asked concernedly.

I blinked, snapping out of my reverie. I was back in Hogsmeade again, walking alongside Sirius up the long path up towards Hogwarts Castle. All around us were excited, rosy-cheeked students, all chatting animatedly with their friends about the upcoming Halloween Feast.

"Yeah, I'm great," I said faintly. It was true. Spending those hours with Lily in the Muggle streets of London had been _incredible_. There had been no people to avoid, no words we couldn't say, nothing to be afraid of. For two blissful hours, Lily and I were just a carefree, happy couple, the kind that make elderly ladies smile and think fondly of their past romances when they see us...

My head was still spinning from everything. Her easy laugh, her delicate touch, the way she smiled...I was enamored by her every move, drunk on her very presence...drunk?

"Where's James and Peter?" I asked suddenly.

"Ahh, thought you'd wonder about that. For your information, Prongs and Wormtail are currently suffering major hangovers," Sirius grinned proudly, as if he'd been responsible. "Turns out their alcohol tolerances aren't that high- they completely passed out before right before you got back. The bartender swears he didn't serve them a drink over the limit, but Dumbledore wasn't too happy about it. He accompanied them back up to the hospital wing, where I imagine Madam Promfrey yelled her lungs out," he snickered.

"How come you're in such great shape, then?" I said accusingly. "You weren't exactly too self-disciplined either, calling for more firewhisky every three minutes-"

"Yeah, but how many of those bottles did I actually drink, Moony?" Sirius said quietly.

I stopped on my tracks. "Come to think of it, I didn't really see you-"

"I didn't want to get wasted," he said. "Especially when my friend wasn't acting the least bit himself. I know you well, Remus, and you wouldn't've normally let James and Peter have that many drinks, which made me keep an eye out. My suspicions were confirmed when you suddenly announced that you were going to leave for no good reason."

"I - Severus - I went to Hogwarts -"

"Moony, I'm a good enough of a liar to tell when other people are hiding things," he said smoothly. "And besides, you've always sucked at lying," he added on an afterthought.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sirius." I said, suddenly angry. "There's no way you can prove that I wasn't at Hogwarts."

"The Maruader's Map helps," he said lightly.

"Yeah? Well, too bad you gave it to me," I retorted.

He arched an eyebrow. "Did I?"

I opened my mouth, and then closed it again.

"Check your pocket, Remus," Sirius said. His voice didn't sound angry.

With a sinking feeling, I pulled out the parchment, unfolded it, and tapped it with my wand, fearfully whispering the words. Nothing happened. By this point, I didn't know what to say anymore except "How could you deceive me like that?"

He shrugged. "Speak for yourself. You surprised me, Remus. I thought you would've chosen James over her."

There was silence between us as my brain shouted a billion things but my lips would not say any of them. I could only stare at the tall boy standing before me. Sirius was looking at me seriously, searching for a reaction.

"You don't need to look so surprised, Moony," he said at last. "It wasn't too hard to figure out. I spend a lot of time with Lily working on our project and she thinks her questions about you are subtle."

He gave me a small, almost apologetic, smile. "And no offense, but you kind of stare at her a lot when you don't think anybody's looking."

At these words, I felt all my previous elation crash down and shatter into a million times. It was as if somebody had physically reached into me and wrenched out something, something that belonged only to me, something that I cherished beyond belief. And as I bled from this wound, _he_ stood calmly before me, holding it, holding the knowledge...

Sirius knew about my betrayal. He knew about my secrets. He knew about _us_.

It was all over. Over after our first real date. Over before it'd really started.

I suddenly had the urge to run away, to hex Sirius, to do anything to escape, escape from my own anguish, escape from those beautiful blue eyes fixed on me, escape from the truth...

But something else in me was saying _no_, countering every wild thought I had. I couldn't run away from it. I'd failed to keep it a secret - it wasn't Sirius' fault that he knew, it was mine and mine alone. I had to accept the consequences of what I'd done.

"Did you tell him yet?" I said dully, staring down.

"Tell who?" Sirius said, peering closely at me. "James?"

I nodded, swallowing hard. Hot tears were pricking my eyes. Were they tears of anger, sadness or fear? I didn't know, and I didn't care - I only blinked furiously and willed them to not spill over.

Silence between us. It was so awkward, so alien to me.

"I didn't say anything to James," Sirius said quietly.

I nodded again, staring down at my sneakers. "You want me to."

More silence.

"No, I don't," he said.

I looked up and opened my mouth to say something, but Sirius wasn't finished.

"Look, Moony. Everybody may know that James and I are best mates, but I consider you to be my best mate, too. I know that doesn't make any sense," he said quickly before I could protest. "But honestly, you know what? I don't give a damn. I'm the luckiest guy on this planet, having you two as friends, you guys are like the antidote to my shithole of a family-"

"Sirius-" I said.

"Don't _Sirius_ me yet, I'm not done, Moony." he said fiercely. "I've watched James, James with his bloody awesome parents and his enormous reputation and his talent at Quidditch - I've watched this guy earn enough glory and happiness in these past years to last him the rest of his life, but you, Remus - you're always hiding behind your heavy books and your perfect grades and your stupid neatly folded clothes." He pulled a face before continuing. "You've got everyone fooled into thinking that you're just another normal teenager, and you may be a zillion times smarter than me at everything else, but you can't fool me on this one, Remus. I _know_ how unhappy you are. Because of - because of _it_ - you're always sick or worrying your head off, but above all, you're scared that if people will find out, then they won't continue to like you or something, which is a really dumb idea, I might point out, because me and James and Peter found out and we're still here for you. For these six years, I've watched you suffer each month, feeling horrible because there's nothing I could ever do to help-"

"But you and James and Peter, you learned how to become Animagi, and that took ages-" I blurted out.

He smiled. "Yeah, well, what good was it, all you got was a big dog bite. Point is," he said quickly before I could protest again, "Remember that talk we had two nights ago, when you were talking about how people were changing because - because they - they had people to care about? I didn't know what you were talking about until I thought about it afterwards - and then I realized, Remus, that _you_, _you_ were changing, _you_ were different...for the first time, you looked _happy_. It didn't take me long to add up two and two - it's so obvious now that I think about it - god - Lily Evans, mate, she and you - oh, I just don't know why you two didn't get together earlier."

"Join the club," I said, smiling timidly. "But I still don't get it, you're all about being noble, Sirius, I thought you would've been upset knowing about Lily and me, because the world knows that James has dedicated his life to pursue her.

Sirius laughed. "Remus, you're acting like what you're doing is illegal or something. The fact is, Lily doesn't like James, she likes _you_, and you fancy her too, and since you obviously make each other happy - which James obviously doesn't - I don't see anything wrong with it at all. I wouldn't dream of ruining this for you - you deserve to be with Lily, mate, and if James finds out, it sure as hell isn't gonna be from _me_."

"Sirius, you-" I began.

"It's no problem," he said, looking away. "I just - just wish you would've told me first."

"I'm sorry, I kind of thought you'd take James' side," I admitted. "But believe me, it wasn't easy, keeping it to myself. I feel better knowing that you know."

"Yeah, well, I feel better knowing that you know that I know" he smiled a little. "So where'd you two sneak off to, anyway?"

I began to tell him everything from our meeting place to the strange encounter with Severus to the blissful, perfect evening spent in the streets of London. If I hadn't been so happy and relieved at the time, I might've noticed that Sirius' smiles were a bit too wide to be genuine, his laughter too loud...

"Sounded like fun," he said when I finished.

"Yeah, it was," I agreed. We walked in silence for a few minutes, our steps stirring up small clouds of dust on the dirt road, making our shoes dirty.

"Sirius," I said suddenly, for a worrisome thought had just occurred to me. "Does James suspect anything, you know, about Lily and me?"

Sirius shook his head. "He might play Seeker on the field, but James isn't exactly the most observant guy when it comes to these things, so I'd be really, really surprised if he noticed anything unusual."

"If he uh, ever says anything-"

"I'll let you know," he said quietly.

I looked at him. "I'm - I'm really grateful, Sirius."

Something changed in his expression. "You really shouldn't be. It's the least I could do, after all these years-"

He was interrupted by a loud, high scream that came from ahead. For one still, pure second, everyone went silent as the scream exploded in the air, ringing incessantly in my sensitive ears and making my head pound. Next to me, Sirius' face had gone very white and up close, I could actually see the gooseflesh rising on his skin.

The confused murmurs around us were drowned out when the scream was soon joined by many others. Then, without a warning, hundreds of terrified students turned on their heels and started sprinting at full speed back down the road, towards Hogsmeade and away from the castle, their horrible cries echoing in the air, their faces distorted in fear-

Instinctively, I grabbed Sirius by the arm and pulled him off the path before we could both get trampled. We rolled clumsily into a hedge off the side of the road, the prickly branches and leaves tearing our clothing and skin.

"What's happening?" Sirius shouted angrily into the throng of people as he got up, brushing himself off, but nobody was paying any attention to him - they were all too busy fleeing.

It was then that I turned and saw it - a large cloud had passed overhead, revealing something suspended in midair over - over Hogwarts-

I tapped Sirius and pointed weakly the glimmering image, the enormous, empty skull...the glinting serpents...their malicious green eyes...

"Sirius - oh god," I murmured, my throat tight. "Oh, we only saw it in the newspapers, I didn't think it'd be so - so -"

"Beautiful," he said softly, staring up at it. I nodded. Although we both knew perfectly well what it meant, there _was _something fascinating about it, something mysterious and powerful and completely beyond our comprehension. Thus, for a brief moment, we stood entranced as we gazed up at the Dark Mark looming over our very own Hogwarts castle.

By now, everybody around us had long fled back down and we were completely alone on the empty road. McGonagall's magnified voice could be heard over the chaos behind us.

"ALL STUDENTS ARE TO IMMEDIATELY PROCEED IN A _CALM_ MANNER DOWN TO THE THREE BROOMSTICKS," she yelled, but her voice was tinted with panic, too. "DO NOT, FOR ANY REASON, APPROACH HOGWARTS CASTLE, I REPEAT, DO _NOT_..."

I blinked out of my trance and turned to face Sirius. There was something hard in his eyes, something blazing, and I knew immediately that at the moment, we were thinking the same exact thing.

_James and Peter are still in there._

Before I could even open my mouth to say something, Sirius pounced on me, pinning my shoulders down on the ground. I was so shocked I didn't even struggle to fight him - I just laid there, panting furiously and staring up into Sirius' wild blue eyes.

"Remus John Lupin," he said calmly. "Would you ever, _ever_ forgive yourself afterwards if you walked down that hill right now, knowing that James and Pete were in there?"

"It never crossed my mind to do so in the first place, Padfoot," I said, irked. "Now get off me, get out the map and let's _go_."

The two of us set off to the castle at a sprint.

* * *

**A/N: **This was really, really long, almost twice as long as the usual length, and also really, really painfully difficult to write. The good news is that the Ebony Files will now _definitely_ be introduced in Chapter 7, and after that, there won't be any more "backstory", per se, to introduce - it's just gonna be all plot, plot, _**plot**. _I'm estimating that this story be roughly 15 chapters when it's done, so we're almost at the halfway mark, whoohoo! Don't forget to leave a review! 


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